Timely Mishaps
by Midnight Phantasma
Summary: The mind of fifteen-year-old Allen Walker stared at his thirteen-year-old reflection in distress. Curse the scientist messing around with Miranda's Time Record! Glancing at the passed out Cross with an empty wine bottle in hand with a tired sigh, Allen contemplated whether staying with the General for another two years would be worth it… He bolted for the door…
1. Home

**A/N: **Hello! This is my first **D. Gray-Man** fic, so I really hope I do okay with it, and thank you so much for taking the time to read it(: Enjoy!

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**Disclaimer****: **I sadly claim no ownership to my most favorite anime/manga, **D. Gray-Man**—though I really, really, really want to, so badly. x/ All credit for this amazing story belongs to Hoshino-sensei. I only own the plot for this little fic of mine!

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Chapter 1

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**Time Frame — Night of January 3****rd****, 1895**

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—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

Allen gasped for breath, running as fast as he could to the nearest train station, fear of his Master's wrath urging him on. Part of him knew he was being ridiculous, considering the fact that his Master probably wouldn't wake up 'til late into the next morning and even then he'd be nursing a hangover. And by the time he noticed his absence, he'd probably just assume he was working his butt off again, trying to scrape enough money to pay off his never-ending debts.

Even so, he wasn't taking any chances. Nearing his destination, Allen slowed down to a hurried walk, trying to catch his breath, and flipped the hood of his ratty coat on over his head to hide his stark white hair, knowing that his Master might start asking questions—more like demanding—at some point, and he didn't need anybody pointing him in the right direction—that is, if his Master cared enough about him finally having the brains to run away. Purposefully bumping into a tall man who'd just exited the ticket line, Allen ducked his head and muttered a barely audible 'sorry', only to receive a sneer in return. At least now he didn't feel as guilty about the ticket he now clenched in his hand, because a child buying a train ticket seemed just as suspicious as his white hair, though maybe not as much.

Ducking inside the train, Allen showed the attendant his ticket and was surprisingly led to a private compartment, garnering a suspicious look, but he was left alone nonetheless. He must've bumped into some high ranking nobleman. That would explain the lack of manners.

Allen slumped down onto the cushioned seat with a heavy sigh, feeling more relaxed as the train led him further away to an unknown destination. He didn't care where it took him, as long as it was far away from his Master. Plus, it wasn't like he needed the "training" anyway, he was much more experienced now. Though, that led to the question of whether he should head to the Order now, or wait. Oh well, he could plan this out better after a nap.

With another relieved sigh, Allen stretched his muscles out and lied back on the seat, realizing that he fit more comfortably since he was a lot shorter now. "At least BaKanda isn't here…" Allen muttered under his breath with an irritated scowl. His face softened as he thought about the rest of his friends and comrades, and glancing at his gnarled and blood red left hand, he resolved that despite this setback, he would continue to protect those precious to him, including all those tortured souls that called out to him in their agony.

Surprisingly, this caused his hand to twitch slightly, and then it began to throb so painfully, Allen let out an anguished hiss. Curling into himself, Allen whimpered and gasped out in short, labored breaths as the fiery pain spread and ripped throughout his whole arm like a wildfire, becoming more excruciating by the second. It was like no other agony he'd endured before. It felt as something was slowly searing the particles in his arm from the inside out, only getting hotter by the second. Allen bit his tongue to prevent the shrieks that were dying to escape as he thrashed on the seat and eventually felt the strong iron taste of blood beginning to seep past his tightly closed lips to mix in with his flowing tears. Scrunching his eyes, trying to endure the torture of his agonizing limb as it was dipped in acid, scorched, and charred alive all at once, Allen eventually blacked out into blissful unawareness with a pained gasp.

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**Time Frame — Morning of January 4th, 1895**

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Wearily, Allen blinked his gritty eyes open when he felt the glaring and unwelcomed light of the morning sun. Had he been out all night? Despite this, Allen felt an even deeper exhaustion that stemmed from his bones and made him achy all over like he'd ran a hundred miles nonstop and then slept in the wrong position. Sitting up with a tired groan, he remembered the reason for unwillingly passing out and winced as he touched his left arm that throbbed all over with a dull burn. Blinking away the bright spots and rubbing off the grit from his eyes, Allen finally chanced a look at his hand, and came to the startling realization that it was now pitch black. Ignoring the slight pain, Allen attempted to clench his left hand, and realized that it was stiff again.

As he thought more about, Allen came to the conclusion that he must've had a whiplash effect. He'd been told that Innocence evolved through the emotions and feelings of its Accommodator, and with the new mindset he had gained to become a Critical Point Breaker, his Innocence must've powered up and gone through every evolution he had ever made all at once, hence all the pain he had endured. Despite it all, it would definitely be an advantage, though that probably meant they were aware of him now. With a slight grin, Allen wondered what Hevlaska and the rest would be thinking when they realized that it wasn't one of their current Exorcists that had hit Critical Point. Unfortunately, that meant that they'd be looking for him all the more.

Allen's thought process was abruptly interrupted when the door to his private compartment was slammed open. Allen relaxed from his tense state when he realized it was just a sheepish attendant that had opened the door with a little too much force.

"I apologize young sir. It was not my intention to disturb you that way!" The older girl gave a slight bow. Allen just gave her small smile to reassure her, trying to ignore the pain it had caused his left arm when he'd slightly jumped in surprise.

Seeing that he would respond no more, the attendant continued, "I came to see if you would like anything for breakfast. Unfortunately, the train was delayed and we will not be arriving for a few more hours."

Allen frowned at this, wondering if his Master had anything to do with it, but then shrugged it off when he reasoned that his Master probably wouldn't notice his absence for another day or two and maybe more if he were lucky, though knowing how he'd gotten into this situation in the first place, that wasn't likely. Glancing up and realizing the attendant was nervously waiting for a response—though that seemed silly considering she was years his senior—Allen finally gave the mournful reply of, "Sorry, I don't have any money."

Cocking her head, she quirked an eyebrow and answered, "That's no problem. That was included in the price of the ticket in case of any inconveniences."

"Oh," Allen answered dumbly and with a brighter smile replied, "Give me everything you've got then!"

Blinking in shock, the attendant shook her head and asked, "Like what? The cooks can make practically anything, but I need something a little more specific."

A devious smile suddenly split across Allen's face for a brief second, but before she had a chance to notice, Allen schooled his face back into his innocent façade, and cheerfully ordered a meal big enough to feed an army.

"R-right," the attendant nervously stuttered, not even bothering to question the absurdity of it all. Just before she left though, she gave him a curious look and advised, "No offense, but you might want to be a little smarter next time you lie."

A little shocked of the timid girl's accusation, Allen questioned, "Pardon me?"

"I-I'm sorry! It's just t-that I saw the big wad of money sticking out of your pocket," the attendant answered with a furious blush, clenching her eyes as if waiting to be hit.

Searching his pockets, Allen realized she was correct. With a contented smile, Allen exclaimed, "Wow! I must've left before Master could steal my winnings!"

"W-what?" She stammered in shock.

"Huh? It's nothing, don't worry about it. And thank you very much for letting me know, though I wasn't lying when I thought I didn't have money," Allen explained, feeling bad for the nervous girl. She slightly reminded him of Miranda.

"Well, then I'm very sorry young sir!" She frantically apologized again with a bow. "Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Allen was about to shake his head in a negative response, when a thought occurred to him. "Actually, yes. Do you happen to know where the train's stop is located at?"

The young attendant blinked in surprise and then frowned, replying, "The train travels to many cities throughout the continent, so we're not usually told where we're headed. Fortunately, I do know it's a small town off the coast of Germany. It's a very far place from where we left."

"That's great! Thank you very much!" Allen didn't attempt to hide his glee. The more distance between those debt collectors and the debt-maker himself and him, the better.

Not feeling as nervous, the attendant gave him a nod and said, "Alright, I'll leave you be then."

Allen nodded and sat back, feeling a little better. Thankfully, the painful throbbing of his arm was starting to ebb away and now it just felt a little sore. He contemplated what to do once he got into town, and realized with a wrinkle of his nose that he stunk of dirt and alcohol. The latter must've been his Master's fault as well as those gambling groups, though if he were to survive, he'd probably have to do it a little more often 'til he joined the Order. So a bath should probably take first priority, or maybe actually getting a room. _Or maybe getting new clothes_, Allen decided looking down at his ratty and worn out clothing that was barely being held at the seams.

Allen jumped when he felt something wiggling inside his shirt. Pulling it up, he realized it was, "Timcanpy! What are you doing here?!"

Timcanpy just gave him one of those scary, sharp toothy grins that used to scare him as kid and snuggled into his soft white hair. Allen smiled fondly, glad that his small companion had decided to follow him. Before anymore words could be exchanged one-sidedly, the door to his compartment was opened once again, and the attendant pushed in a cart carrying all the plates of foods Allen had ordered. It was surprisingly accurate, considering she had gone off memory.

"Here you go young sir. I hope it is to your liking," she said.

Allen nodded happily and she dismissed herself hurriedly. Solely focused on the piles of food, Allen didn't notice and enthusiastically dug in along with Timcanpy. By the time they finished, Allen was completely satisfied, and lied back on the comfortable seat, falling into nice, restful slumber, unlike the night before.

* * *

When he finally woke up from his comfy nap, it was already late into the morning and he could already feel the train slowing down to a stop. Standing up and stretching out the kinks in his muscles, Allen realized he had no luggage and exited the train without fuzz. Leaving the train station, he headed into town and kept an eye out for anything resembling a clothing store. Allen was literally itching to take a bath but he didn't want to change into the same clothes like he'd done for years since now he actually had the chance to do the opposite.

Finally finding a small clothing store, Allen silently entered and didn't bother looking for the owner, figuring he could do well enough for himself. Looking around, he realized there were a couple other items and accessories that were sold as well, and snatched up a medium-sized, black leather backpack that he could carry his stuff in, since a suitcase seemed like too much considering he would have nothing else to carry but the clothes he would soon buy.

After looking through some of the clothing, he picked out a couple long sleeved button-ups that looked to be his size, as well as couple pair of black trousers and pair of pajamas, and some socks and briefs. He also managed to find at thick, snug looking black coat that reached his knees, but unfortunately it didn't include a hood, so he snatched up a gray knitted hat that would cover most of his hair up as well as his scar—he'd left his green bandana back with his Master. Allen stared down at his worn out boots for a while and decided that he could afford a new pair, plus they seemed to almost be falling apart. Thankfully, he found a good pair of knee-length black boots that were around his size. Gazing down at the items with a critical eye, Allen decided he could afford an extra sweater—the town was freezing despite being near the sea—a new ribbon, since the one he had was fraying at the edges, as well as a new pair of gloves.

Picking up everything he'd chosen, the pile was high enough to cover his face, so it seemed reasonable that the man who owned the shop jumped in shock and dropped his book when he glanced up to see a pile of his products headed his way. The man sighed in relief after Allen dumped the clothing and other items on the counter and revealed himself. Not many words were exchanged, as Allen used half the money he had to pay for everything. He left soon after folding up most of what he could and putting it in his backpack. Fortunately, most of it fit, so he just had to carry his boots.

Next was finding an inn, which wasn't too difficult considering there were a couple around town. Allen decided to just go for the nearest one and after getting a cheap room, he took the longest bath he could and dressed up comfortably in all the new clothes he'd gotten. Pulling on his gray knitted hat, as well as his backpack just in case he needed to make a quick exit, Allen decided to patrol around town since his cursed eye wasn't in range of the whole town.

Everything was relatively calm, and he even made a quick stop at the local tavern to gamble the little money he had left. Of course, he came out relatively richer than when he'd entered, much to the irritation of everyone who'd lost all their money. Despite the situation he'd found himself in, Allen decided it had been a pretty good day. But knowing his luck, it obviously had to come to an end. Rounding the corner with a small skip to his step, Allen literally ran into a group of Finders that seemed to have been in a heated discussion. They all glared down at him when he bumped into them.

"Run along and go home, kid," one of the older men growled in irritation.

Allen frowned and resisted the childish urge to stick his tongue out—was his age actually affecting him? Shrugging it off, Allen figured they could do their job and continued walking on without a word. Unfortunately, he was only a few feet away when his left eye activated, causing him to realize why he hadn't sensed the Akuma earlier. His cursed eye hadn't evolved yet, so he'd have to be nearby if he wanted to detect them. Allen wasn't sure whether to be relieved or irritated, that he wouldn't be able to detect them as accurately. At least his eye wouldn't be so demanding.

Frowning in frustration, Allen ducked into a nearby alleyway, and kept his narrowed eye trained on the disguised Akuma, who seemed to be leering at the oblivious Finders with an insane grin. Glancing up at the distorted soul, he was immediately able to tell that it had already evolved into a Level 2, which wouldn't be difficult for him, but it would mean outing himself to the Finders. Allen knew that freeing the tortured soul took priority, so with a silent command, activated Crown Clown, and willed it to disguise him with its white cloak and mask. He passed up taking out his Sword of Exorcism, knowing his claw would be enough for the lower level Akuma, and silently ventured out, hoping to exorcise the Akuma before being noticed by the Finders.

Unluckily, the Akuma sensed his Innocence and immediately shredded its human skin with a revolting snap, revealing its big, beetle-like robot shape. This caused the few humans around him to flee, which brought the Finders' attention to it. Giving out a maniac grin, it called out with an excited giggle, "Come out and play with me, Exorcist~! I can sense you're here~! Hihihihi~!"

Before the Finders could do anything stupid, Allen ventured out with a swift, graceful run, exorcising the Akuma before it dragged along any humans into their fight. Giving the shocked Finders a quick nod, Allen swiftly removed himself from the scene and resolved to quickly patrol the rest of the town. His actions proved to be beneficial, as he had found five Level 1s by the time nightfall came. After having a large and fulfilling meal, Allen went to his room for a quick bath and a good rest, having successfully avoided all the Finders that had been in search of him.

As Allen contemplated it more, he came to the conclusion that going to the Order would be his best bet. Now that they knew about him, as well as how his Innocence looked, they'd search for him all the more, and he wasn't really keen on following in his Master's footsteps and being on the run. It's not like he had anything to hide. Well, scratch that, the whole 14th business might be a problem later on, though it wasn't like he knew much about it. After the Level 4 had attacked Headquarters, they'd all been recovering and getting checked over when the little incident with Miranda's Time Record had occurred, so he'd never gotten the chance to question his Master about all the secrets he'd been hiding from him. Thankfully, since all his memories had passed on to this body, the memories of the 14th were still dormant, but he wouldn't have too long. He'd just have to make the best of it and keep walking, like he'd always done.

If he did go to the Order though, it also meant he'd have to repeat all those missions at some point. Allen scowled at the thought of having to repeat his first mission with BaKanda. In the couple months he'd been there, before having to go look for his Master, he'd been on a couple missions, along with the one in the Rewinding Town with Lenalee. Not all of them had involved Innocence, some of them being simple Akuma extermination jobs—which had been mostly solo missions—but it'd be better if he did retrieve the Innocence now, just in case. As well as send poor Miranda on her way since she was probably looking for a job still. Mei-Ling was too young at the moment, but Krory would have to wait. In his urge to escape his Master, he'd completely forgotten about Rosanne, and there wasn't a likely possibility that he could go and take it back without getting caught. Plus there was the fact that his Master must've kept it that long for a reason… Unless he was just being lazy.

Allen almost sweatdropped at the thought. It wasn't like he could really do much about it anyway, though it did make him curious as to what his Master must be thinking about the fact that he'd finally lost his money-making slave. Allen almost wished he could be there just to see his reaction, but if he sent Timcanpy to record the event, he'd only be tracked down.

With that final thought in mind, Allen finally succumbed to a deep, restful sleep.

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**Time Frame — Morning of January 29th, 1895**

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He'd finally made it! It had been a long month, but Allen had finally made it to England, the current location of the European Headquarters. With him he carried his usual backpack, along with Timcanpy and three raw pieces of Innocence that he hoped to get to Hevlaska soon before he was tracked down by anymore Akuma. He'd already sent Miranda on her way weeks ago, and had recovered Innocence from his old missions—one of them being from Lala. Sadly, a fleet of Akuma had followed him when they sensed his Innocence and had mortally injured Guzol. Despite the fact that Lala managed to spend his last days with him, Allen was still incredibly guilty, since he hadn't even planned on taking the Innocence in the first place, wanting to give them their last two years together. Unfortunately he'd been nearby. The other pieces of Innocence had been from the Millenium Swordsman and what was thought to be the Leaf of Revival.

Allen hurried through town, eager to get there as soon as possible, which was why he didn't notice the smaller person in his way until he bumped into her. Shaking himself off, he hurried to help her up, but was shocked to find it was—

"Ow! That hurt and you dirtied my dress!" Road whined. Allen sighed. Of course it was just his luck to bump into Road of all people, especially when he was on his way to becoming an Exorcist for the second time. He noted amusingly, that despite his small stature, he was _still_ taller than her.

Wiping herself off, Road didn't even bother to pick up the dazed Lero, who she'd landed on when she fell.

"I'm very sorry Miss!" Allen attempted to apologize and leave as quickly as possible, but Road immediately grabbed him by his coat sleeve before he could make his escape.

"You have to pay now! Maybe become my playmate?" Road pondered, widening her large, violet eyes and giving him an innocent smile. Allen saw right through it though, having done it himself multiple times when cheating people out of their money.

"Um, how about I buy you a large bag of candy," Allen suggested slightly nervous, trying to get out of it before it escalated into a fight, which might involve a hostage or two. It was a good thing he'd decided to buy his gray knitted hat, since it hid the pentagram part of the scar.

"Really!? Yeah, definitely!" Road jumped excitedly, oblivious to his internal monologue, then picked up Lero and began to drag Allen down the street.

Entering a rather bright and colorful shop, Road made Allen buy her a large bag of candy before dragging him away once again; this time to an ice cream stand.

"Hey, I thought I was just buying you candy," Allen grumbled, as he paid for her chocolate ice cream cone.

"Yeah, but I was bored and decided we should go on a date!" Road explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world, causing Allen to splutter. Why was it the weird girls who always liked him? At least she hadn't attempted to kiss him like last time. Strolling around the cobblestone streets with a bounce to her step and holding his hand, she began to swing them back and forth while delicately licking her ice cream held in her other hand—poor Lero had been left forgotten in the candy store, unlike the bag of candy that had been carefully tied to the belt at her waist.

"What's your name?" Road casually asked. Sighing, Allen knew she'd find out eventually anyway, so gave her the simple reply of, "Allen."

"That's cute! I'm Road!" She giggled childishly. Allen wasn't even bothered by the fact that she'd called his name cute; anything to keep this as bloodless and harmless as possible.

"Anyway, I have to go! If I lose Lero again, Millenie isn't going to be happy~!" Road giggled again, but before Allen could sigh in relief, she gave him a quick peck on the lips.

_Not again! _Allen complained mentally.

"Bye-bye Allen! Thanks for the fun date~!" Road called out with a laugh at his bewildered face as she skipped away. Allen grumbled something inaudible under his breath as he began to stock away, and blushed when he realized that some older women had been cooing when they saw them. Why did this always happen to him? At least the crisis was averted and he could finally be on his way.

* * *

Allen felt a lot more relaxed when he'd made it to the underground waterways of Headquarters. Despite the fact that they always told Exorcist that they didn't actually have to climb the huge cliff and could've just used the elevator, it was actually a lie since the entrance was a secret only known to those who were already part of the Order. The secret entrance was never mentioned outside of Headquarters for security reasons. It was one of the reasons the guards weren't usually stationed here, so it was easier for Allen to sneak inside unnoticed, especially considering his small stature, as much as he detested it.

When Allen finally entered the building, he explored around, searching for anybody that might be familiar, but found the place surprisingly empty. Even the Science Department was empty for the most part and Komui wasn't in his office. The only place he hadn't checked was the cathedral, and that wasn't usually occupied unless—

With a gasp, Allen began to sprint with all his might, hoping with all his heart that it wasn't what he thought it was. Unfortunately, he hadn't been wrong in his assumption. Allen stared with regretful eyes and clenched fists at the numerous coffins lined up throughout the room, wishing he could've come sooner instead of dawdling around. Almost everyone was gathered here, some lying beside the coffins of their comrades. With a gulp, Allen's searching eyes finally came to rest on Lenalee. Despite the fact that she was wrapped in multitudes of bandages and even had an IV fluid connected to her, she was still sitting there and mourning all their deaths.

Allen still remained unnoticed, as he stepped in and finally sat by her side, wishing he could offer the comfort and support she wanted, but he was only a stranger to her. Allen sat with her for a couple minutes, but not being able to withstand her weeping form any longer, he pulled her to him, where she grasped his coat and continued to sob, not even bothering to see who it was that was holding her. This continued on for an undetermined amount of time, before she finally tried to uselessly rub away her oncoming tears and looked up. Suddenly pulling back from embarrassment, she asked in a hoarse voice, "Who are you?"

"Sorry if I startled you. I'm Allen Walker," Allen introduced himself with a solemn smile.

"Lenalee Lee," Lenalee nodded while pointlessly wiping her face tear-streaked face and asked, "Why are you here?"

Wordlessly, Allen pulled off his left glove and showed her. Understanding dawned on her and she muttered a simple, "Oh."

"Yeah. How are your wounds?" Allen asked with a worried frown.

Giving him a surprisingly bitter smile, she answered, "They'll heal. Unlike them." At this, she turned to look at the rest of the dreary room with a regretful gaze.

"Which is why we have to keep fighting, or their deaths will only be in vain," Allen answered with an equally regretful look, taking a hold of her hand and squeezing it in comfort.

"You're right," Lenalee replied while sniffing with a determined nod, squeezing his hand back. "I just wish…"

"I know," Allen replied knowingly.

Allen wasn't sure how long they sat there in silence, grieving over the multiple deaths, but it eventually came to an end. The Head Nurse demanded that Lenalee come back to the Hospital Wing, though she only convinced her when she agreed to let Allen come along. The Head Nurse didn't really care who Allen was, as long as he was healthy, her job was done.

Allen sat beside Lenalee while she rested. She'd wanted to stay awake, to get to know her new comrade more, but her exhaustion—both emotional and physical—had finally caught up with her. Allen watched over her, deciding to talk to Komui later on when he wasn't so busy. Thankfully, Lenalee had a private room, so nobody but her and the Head Nurse knew of him, unless she'd taken the time to inform Komui, but it wasn't likely. Soon it was nightfall and Allen fell asleep with his arms and head resting on the bed and Timcanpy curled around his neck, as if watching over them.

* * *

Allen awoke to someone gently shaking his shoulder.

"Mornin'" Allen muttered blearily out of habit.

"Good morning," Allen heard Komui's voice reply. Rubbing the grit and sleepiness away from his eyes, Allen finally chanced a look at him. Komui's hair was a lot longer than he'd remember, and Allen briefly wondered if it'd gotten cut off by one his Komurin's. Lenalee also seemed to be awake, as she'd been the one to shake him.

"Morning Allen!" Lenalee replied, looking a lot better than yesterday.

"My sweet little sister here tells me you came here to be an Exorcist," Komui stated.

"That's right. Nice to meet you sir, my name's Allen Walker," Allen formally introduced himself, standing up and shaking his hand in greeting. Allen then wondered how silly he must have looked saying that with his extremely youthful appearance.

"I am Komui Lee, the Branch Chief," Komui replied. "I am sorry for not being able to properly greet you before, but thank you for taking care of my darling little sister!"

"Brother!" Lenalee said indignantly, though she offered him a slight smile anyway.

Slightly laughing, Allen replied, "It was no problem. You looked to be busy anyways."

Komui's expression suddenly turned grim, and nodding he said, "That's right. I'm sorry you had to arrive on such a terrible day. Either way, we must get your Innocence checked by Hevlaska before you officially become an Exorcist."

Allen was about to nod in agreement when he paused and exclaimed, "Oh wait, I almost forgot!" Reaching into the inner pockets of his black coat, he dug out the three fragments of raw Innocence that he'd managed to obtain and held them up to Komui's astounded face. "This is why it took me almost a month to get here. I kept running into trouble."

"That's certainly impressive! I'm guessing that by now you should have a good understanding as to what an Exorcist's mission requires. Destroying the Akuma is only part of it. Obtaining the Innocence, that which gives the Exorcists power, is just as vital if we are to win this war," Komui explained to the already knowing Allen.

Komui then gave him a curious glance. "You say it took you a month to get here?" At Allen's affirmative nod, he continued, "Who was it that sent you here in the first place? Have you already been trained by a General?"

Allen grimaced at the question, but answered it nonetheless, "Yes, General Cross. I've been his apprentice for the past year." He didn't bother telling them that the only thing he'd learned from the debt-racking man was how to gamble and how to successfully evade debt collectors.

"So the man really is alive," Komui mused.

"Unfortunately," Allen muttered, a dark aura suddenly surrounding him.

"A-Allen," Lenalee stammered, suddenly worried for him.

"Sorry," Allen said, managing to snap out of it with a sheepish smile. "Just thinking of what he put me through." He said this so brightly, Lenalee was afraid to ask.

"Well, we better go on ahead and speak with Hevlaska. Make sure to rest a lot my dear Lenalee!" Komui exclaimed.

"Yes Brother," Lenalee responded with a tired sigh, though she smiled reassuringly nonetheless.

"Come, we shouldn't keep Hevlaska and the Great Generals waiting." Komui motioned for Allen to follow him.

"Good luck Allen!" Lenalee called out to him, and giving her a final wave and smile, Allen followed Komui on the familiar root to Hevlaska's chamber.

As they made their way there, Komui mentioned, "You certainly seemed knowledgeable. Despite General Cross' elusive ways, am I right to assume that he was an excellent teacher?"

"Oh no. He was like a demon himself, so I really wouldn't be too upset if he dropped dead at any given moment. Master mostly racked up debts that he threw at me to pay and pretty much stole any money I managed to earn. Any and all information I got out of him was when I managed to get him utterly drunk," Allen replied in such a casual way, Komui had to sweatdrop. All of it was pretty much true, and Allen had come to accept this, so he was just glad he'd escaped the man's clutches.

_I can't even begin to imagine what this kid's been through… _Komui thought with a grimace, all of his suspicions on the elusive general being confirmed.

"If I may ask, how old are you?" Komui peeked curiously at him. Thankfully, children being caught up in the war was rare and Lenalee, as well as Kanda, were some of the unlucky few, but Allen's age left something to be desired.

"Thirteen," Allen replied, easily being able to discern Komui's thoughts with a grimace. That was the one setback he would have; his age. Not only would he have to retrain his body to be as fit as before, as well as regain all his muscle memory, but he also wouldn't be taken seriously and he'd most likely be paired up with older and supposedly more experienced Exorcists. Though Exorcists usually weren't coddled, Allen had the dreaded feeling that with his age—especially considering he looked younger than his supposedly thirteen-year-old body—he might be an exception. As much as he despised it, Allen actually hoped he'd be paired with Kanda on his missions, just so he'd be left on his own.

"We're here," Komui announced, interrupting his train of thought. Gazing at the endless darkness, Allen wasn't too surprised when it was suddenly lit up by the Great Generals' presence high above them.

"Once again, God has graced us with His presence," one of them said in a deep voice. Allen held back a snort at their dramatics. Had it really been so long ago that he'd been awed by their presence?

"The Great Generals," Komui introduced. "These are the gentlemen we answer to."

Then turning to him, Allen noticed a mischievous glint in his eyes, but fortunately, Allen knew what was coming. Trying, and failing, to keep the smirk off his face, Komui continued, "Now show them how worthy your unique abilities will be towards the cause."

Suddenly, Hevlaska grabbed him from behind and lifted him up high, but having anticipated this, Allen attempted to relax, no matter how nerve wracking it was.

"Show… me… your Innocence," Hevlaska commanded in a deep, echo-y voice. Allen cringed at the feeling of being probed from the inside, but managed to keep calm for the most part. It seemed that Komui could see right through him though, because he noticed the knowing smirk he held.

"So what do you think Hevlaska? Does this apostle of God meet your exact level of standards?" Komui called out.

Instead of responding, Hevlaska connected with him and began to announce, "2%... 16%... 31%... 57%... 83%... 98%... 115%... 127%... It appears that 127 percent is the maximum synchro rate you and your weapon, Crown Clown as it seems to call itself, are capable of."

Allen cringed when he heard the sharp clatter of Komui's clipboard hitting the metal elevator in shock. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too curious as to how he'd achieve that certain level of synchronization. As Hevlaska finally set Allen down, he looked up to see the Great Generals arguing amongst each other. He couldn't understand most of it, but he managed to catch a few words and phrases like, "general", "too young", and "not ready yet". Allen also noticed the appraising look Komui was giving him now, as if looking at him for the first time.

"SILENCE!" The general seated at the center finally shouted in a deep, booming voice after minutes of useless bickering. After getting their attention, he continued, "A compromise, if you will? Five generals is the maximum number that is usually active, which is what we have at the current moment, so there is no immediate need for a new general. _Despite_ General Cross' constant absence, if he has already sent in an Exorcist this young and capable he _must_ be doing his job." The lead general held up his hand, preventing some of the other generals from speaking up in argument. "However, despite being such a young apostle, he does meet the required needs to become a general, so if there is ever need of a new general, Walker will be the first candidate." At this, he received a few grudging nods of agreement.

"Speaking of requirements," Komui piped up, while simultaneously retrieving the three pieces of Innocence he'd been given by Allen earlier and holding them up for a clear view. "It seems that our newest apostle managed to locate and retrieve three pieces of Innocence on his way to Headquarters." Allen winced at Komui's praising tone, suddenly feeling guilty. It's not like _he'd _been the one to spend months investigating the strange phenomenons, he'd just used his future knowledge.

"It was just a coincidence," Allen muttered sheepishly under his breath, while trying to ignore the Great Generals' piercing gazes.

"Nonsense," Komui argued, holding the pieces towards Hevlaska, who happily invited them to dwell within her. "Is there anything else that you can tell us about Allen's Innocence, Hevlaska?"

Hevlaska's attention turned back to him again, and gazed deeply at him for a few moments before speaking up, "Allen Walker, in the future, when darkness dominates this planet, your Innocence will produce an extraordinary 'Destroyer of Time'."

Komui began to clap enthusiastically, while gushing, "I have no idea what that means, but it sounds amazing! Hevlaska's prophesies are cryptic, but they are true~! Congrats kid, now we can actually trust you~!"

Despite knowing what would occur with Hevlaska, Allen still attempted to punch Komui, which he successfully blocked with his clipboard that he'd picked up earlier. The fact that Komui completely enjoyed this irritated him to no end. "You really annoy me Komui, you know that?" Allen grumbled while giving him a half-hearted glare.

"Aww, but we just met! In time, I know you'll come to realize the amazing person that I am and learn to love me~!" Komui exclaimed in a confident tone. Despite his absurd statement, Allen smiled slightly. He'd missed Komui and the rest in the time he'd been gone, and despite the circumstances, Allen was glad to be back, even if it meant having to recreate the friendships he'd already made while being here. Unfortunately, he had to sit through the lecture on the Cube and its prophecy a second time—it was likely that Komui didn't trust that his Master had told it right if he'd really been drunk like Allen had insinuated—but it ended soon enough, much to his relieve. Despite his resolve on saving all the lives he'd been too slow to save the first time, being treated as the new rookie would be really irritating; plus his age didn't help much.

"I'm really looking forward to working together with you," Komui spoke up after giving him a moment to gather his thoughts. With a smirk, he added, "Just know that the pay is awful."

Allen smiled nostalgically at the old joke, and taking a hold of his hand, answered, "Right."

"Welcome to the Black Order," Komui spoke the words that he'd been longing to hear. He was finally here; he was finally home.

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**A/N: **Well, I definitely hope that turned out better then I thought it would^^' Anyway, if you have any questions at all, please feel free to ask me. And I know this chapter probably wasn't all that interesting; that's mostly because it was just setting up the story, though I don't even know what the story line is just yet. This was just a random plot bunny that attacked me at a random moment of thought.

Either way, I'd appreciate it if you please reviewed and let me know whether it's worth continuing this story! If not, then I might just leave it as a one-shot.


	2. Mission

**A/N: **Wow, I'm really happy I got a good response for the first chapter. Thank you to **negimarules52**, **bougainvillea blossom**, **EpikalStorms**, **nonononononon**, **Mangoswirls**, **Guest**, **God eye gala**, **Lenore91**, **Ennael**, **NirvanaFrk97**, **Kaite1211**, **Allyieh**, **KoiKyuuiKitai**, and **myangelicladyofdarkness** for all taking the time to review! I really appreciate it(: I'd also like to dedicate this next chapter to **EpikalStorms**, because if it weren't for her encouragement, I probably wouldn't have posted this on FanFiction in the first place(x It would have just taken up useless space on my Documents.

I'd also like to let you all know something. It seems that most of you seem to think that Allen will immediately start changing the things he hasn't already—like Miranda's situation—but I would also like to remind you that some of the events he knows of aren't suppose to happen for another two years. He could go searching for the Ark himself, but that would just complicate things and change the future he knows of to the point that Allen wouldn't even be able to use his future knowledge as an advantage. I also don't want to do such a large time skip just yet, so for now, I'm going to focus on having him recreate his friendships with members of the Black Order. That is all.

Enjoy!

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**Disclaimer****: **I do not, or will ever, own the amazing and wonderful anime we know as **D. Gray-Man**. Unfortunately for me, but probably more fortunate for the rest of you(x

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Chapter 2

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**Time Frame — ****Morning of February 5****th****, 1895**

* * *

—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

Nothing much had happened in the week he'd been there, but Johnny had made him his old Exorcist coat, just a lot smaller, and he'd been able to reacquaint with everyone when they'd thrown him the traditional welcoming party. As much he wished he could say he enjoyed it, the truth is that being fond over by a bunch of Finder ladies had _not_ been fun. His cheeks still ached somewhat from all the squeezing. And the thought of his Master being proud of him did _not _make him feel any better.

The only Exorcist that had been there had been Lenalee—she'd been dispatched from the Hospital Wing after a couple of days. The rest had been on some mission or the other and Miranda was still undergoing her training, but Allen didn't mind much, though he did wish Lavi was here. After asking Lenalee about all the Exorcists, she hadn't once mentioned a wild red-head much to his disappointment.

Completing his morning exercises and getting dressed, Allen happily followed his nose—his sense of direction being nonexistent—to the cafeteria, his favorite place in the building. Just thinking about Jerry's food made his mouth water. Speeding up to a quicker pace, Allen finally made it and much to Jerry's excitement, ordered enough to feed everyone already in the cafeteria. All the Finders and scientists who had yet to find out about his appetite stared at him in unconcealed shock as he carried his mountain of food to the nearest table and promptly began to eat, not believing for a second that he'd actually eat it all.

"Allen!" He heard Lenalee call out. Looking up and around the large pile of food that was his breakfast, Allen's greeting died down in his throat when he realized the reluctant person she was dragging along. It was a sixteen-year-old Kanda.

"Allen!" Lenalee repeated when she was nearer as if he hadn't heard her the first time, and continued, "This is the one Exorcist I've been telling you about. Allen, meet Kanda!"

Even though his first instinct was to sneer and insult the much taller Japanese, Allen held back and gave him a perfectly polite smile, though he refrained from holding out his hand, knowing it'd only be ignored. "Nice to meet you."

"Che," Kanda just grumbled, not bothering to say anything else. Then again, if Lenalee hadn't been there, he would have probably said much worse.

Allen noticed Lenalee's eye twitch, and did not envy Kanda at the moment. He'd definitely be getting it later. Before anymore could be said though, Reever called out to them, "Allen! Kanda! Head to the Chief's office after breakfast, you guys have a mission!"

"Déjà vu," Allen muttered under his breath, but quickly finished eating, and with a quick goodbye to Lenalee, went off to review his mission with Komui. Kanda followed soon afterwards.

When they entered his office and waded through the pool of untouched paperwork, they found Komui dead asleep. With a sigh, Allen tried shaking him awake, even though he knew it'd be useless, but he wasn't suppose to know the method of waking him up, and Kanda didn't look like was helping anytime soon. Then again, Kanda had seemed as surprised as him when Reever first told them, so he probably didn't know. Oh well, he could just say that one of the scientist mentioned it to him.

Leaning over, Allen whispered the dreaded words, "Komui, Lenalee's getting married."

"NOOOOO! MY DEAR SWEET LENALEEEEEEE!" Komui called out desperately with a torrent of tears, causing Kanda to sweardrop, then glare at him in irritation—which went unnoticed—while growling under his breath, "Fucking sister-complex…"

Tugging at his lab coat, Allen hesitantly called out, "Um, Komui? The mission?"

Finally taking note of them, Komui immediately went into business mode and sat down, fixing his glasses, the tears mysteriously gone. Clearing his throat, Komui began, "Right, sorry about that. Anyway, both of you are going to a large city in south Italy. There's been a large Akuma sighting there. For now, we're considering it to be a simple Akuma extermination job, but if there seems to be anything off, I want you two to find out if what's attracting the Akuma is Innocence. Understood?"

Both of them nodded, receiving pamphlets on all the information that had been gathered by the Finders, and after grabbing their belongings, they were on their way. Before they could reach the elevator that would take them down to the canals, they were intercepted by Reever. "You guys, I'm so sorry—"

Suddenly noticing their belongings, Reever blinked in confusion and said, "So the Chief was awake? I could have sworn…"

"Idiot was dead asleep alright," Kanda scoffed.

"But he woke up by himself, right?" Reever asked, suddenly giving them a suspicious look.

"No, I woke him up!" Allen piped up, and then widened his eyes when he realized his mistake. He wasn't supposed to know the special method for waking Komui up!

Suddenly Reever yanked him up, giving him a desperate look that frightened Allen. "What?! How?! We've been trying to figure it out for years, but we still don't know!"

Allen sagged in relief, realizing that nobody even _knew_ the special method, and was about to explain, when he noticed Kanda's quickly retreating form. Swiftly wiggling out of Reever's grip, he ran after him before he could make it to the elevator without him, while calling back, "Sorry, I gotta go Reever, but I'll tell you when I get back!"

He felt guilty when he ignored his desperate shouts, but he didn't want to explain to Komui that he hadn't gone on the mission, just because he'd been too slow to keep up. That would be so embarrassing. Even when he caught up to Kanda, he still had to slightly jog to keep up with Kanda's long strides. Unfortunately, Kanda had already gone through puberty, so the two year difference wasn't much of a change on him except for probably an inch or two. Unlike Allen, who had practically been reverted back from his mid-teens to a child, even if he was already thirteen. In those two years, Allen had gone through a couple growth spurts, so he probably looked like a little kid compared to him at the moment. As much as it annoyed Allen, he couldn't do much about it, though complaining to Kanda to slow down was definitely out of the question.

They made it down to the canals and even to the train—at least this time Allen expected the train jumping—in silence. Even the Finder didn't pay him much mind, though Allen tried not to let it get to him. The only benefit to being treated like a kid was being underestimated, though it irritated him to no end. Even when he'd joined the Order at fifteen he'd still been thought of as child, so it made sense to be treated even more so at this age.

Sitting in their private compartment, Allen swung his legs back and forth and shifted his position every few seconds. Another downside was having extra energy that he didn't even know how to burn off without having to do labor jobs for his Master anymore. He'd tried training more than usual while at the Order, but that had gotten old eventually.

"Will you _stop_ fidgeting you fucking beansprout?" Kanda finally growled out. _Well it didn't take him long to snap. Not that it usually does… _Allen thought somewhat amused. Unfortunately, Allen was too agitated to argue with Kanda like he normally would.

"Sorry," Allen finally mumbled, which was extremely unlike him, since he _never_ apologized to Kanda. But Allen was starting to get fed up with dealing with all these weird and uncomfortable changes. Really, had his voice always been this high? And why did everything have to look so big? And why was he so freakin' _emotional_!? Allen knew he was sulking, which was also not like him—unless it involved remembering his time with Master—but he just _really_ wanted his old body back.

Kanda must've thought he hurt his feelings or something, because he just turned away with a small and slightly uncomfortable, "Che."

Now this picked Allen's interest. Kanda never worried for other people's feelings—Lenalee being one of the few exceptions—in fact he outright hurt them, so the fact the he hadn't taken the opportunity to make him feel worse, made him curious. Allen stared at him for a moment, but knew he wouldn't gain anything from that. Looking around, he noticed his reflection on the window, and finally realized how child-like he looked… No way! That couldn't… Could it?

Allen had to keep himself from laughing when he finally realized why Kanda mostly ignored him instead of giving him crap on how he was going to die by the end of the month. He looked like a kid! Kanda probably thought he'd start crying or clinging to him at any moment now. And maybe even start saying some nonsense about wanting to go home. Kanda didn't know how to deal with children, and probably didn't want to learn anytime soon. Just the thought of Kanda trying to attempt to babysit had Allen forcing down another round of laughter. Oh the hilarity of it all! He could probably use this to his advantage!

"What's with the stupid ass grin?" Kanda sneered, then seemed to think better about it and looked away. This was way too priceless.

"Just thought of something funny," Allen snickered, trying to get some of the laughter out of his system. Kanda scoffed but said no more. Well this wouldn't do. If they didn't talk, then there wasn't a chance of Kanda saying something stupid, which meant he couldn't act on his "child-like tendencies". And Allen planned on having Kanda wrapped around his little finger by the time this mission ended, since it'd probably be his only chance. Too bad, he'd be the only one to the see the irony of it.

"So, what's your Innocence?" Allen decided to go for a simple question, making sure to work well with his childish voice. Kanda just nodded towards his sword and said no more. No matter, he'd break him down eventually.

"Really? Cool! I have a sword too!" Allen exclaimed with childish wonder.

Kanda raised his eyebrows in question and pointedly looked around the otherwise empty compartment.

"I'm a parasitic type, silly!" Allen laughed, and loved the way Kanda's eye twitched in annoynce at being called silly. He continued, "My weapon is my arm, so I pretty much just pull the sword out of my socket!"

Kanda seemed a bit disturbed at the way he described it, but just nodded and said no more. This only made Allen more determined.

"So what special things can your sword do?" Allen eagerly asked.

"Create illusions," was Kanda's short reply, though he seeped a good amount of annoyance into it, as if trying to let Allen know that his prying was not welcomed. Of course, Allen already knew this, so it didn't affect him a single bit.

"That's awesome! Mine can't actually do anything but exorcise Akuma," Allen added some sadness and a small quiver to his voice while looking at his lap, as if he might start crying at any given moment if Kanda didn't say the right words. Peeking up from under his lashes, Allen was satisfied to see a horrified look on his face, as he scrambled to find a safe response.

Clearing his throat, Kanda muttered just loud for him to hear, "I'm sure it's fine."

"You really think so, Kanda?" Allen gave him a hopeful look. Allen wished so bad that Lavi from his time were here to see how uncomfortable Kanda looked. Kanda gave him a small nod, and then continued to ignore him.

"But I don't really know how to use it. Do you think you could teach me?" Allen gave him a wide-eyed gaze.

Kanda look conflicted and Allen could guess easily why. Kanda did _not_ want to waste his time with him, but he was afraid of the consequences if he outright said no. He finally found a roundabout way when he finally replied, "I'm busy."

Allen couldn't argue with that one. Kanda rarely spent time at the Order, taking on missions so constantly, he sometimes didn't come back for weeks. Allen thought about taking out his crying card, but that seemed like a waste, especially considering he didn't even want lessons from BaKanda, he'd just been trying to make him uncomfortable, so he let out a small, "Oh."

Allen wondered what to say next and decided a little more prying couldn't hurt, so after an awkward silence, Allen finally asked, "How old are you?"

"Sixteen," was Kanda's short reply.

"Wow! You're almost a grownup!" Allen exclaimed, pretending to be in awe. He was originally going to tell him of his own age, but letting him assume seemed like a better approach, since he looked younger than his real age. Plus Kanda would never ask. Allen began to pry more, asking random questions that seemed to annoy Kanda to no end, which he'd either answer shortly or just shrug off. When he wouldn't answer, Allen would just happily give the answer about himself and move onto the next question undeterred. Allen wondered how long it would take to get him to snap this time.

"Would you just shut the hell up already, you dumbass beansprout!?" Kanda finally snarled. The fact that Kanda had begun to call him the dreaded nickname annoyed him to no end, but he didn't show this. He had an act to keep up.

Widening his now tear-filled silver eyes, Allen shrunk back and purposely stammered in a low whisper, "M-my name's Allen."

Kanda's eyes widened in fear, seeing the waterworks coming, but fortunately for him, their Finder suddenly opened the door. "Master Exorcists, we have arrived."

Kanda saw the opportunity for what it was, and grabbing his suitcase, quickly began to make his exit. Snatching his backpack, Allen ran after him and yelled out, "Wait up Kanda!"

Unfortunately, Kanda didn't slow his pace down, so Allen jogged the whole way until they finally exited the train station. They made their way to the inn they were going to stay at, and after dropping their stuff off, began their patrol around the large city. Unfortunately, Kanda kept going at his speedy pace and if he didn't slow down, Allen would soon be lost in the large and rough crowds. Allen knew it was a big risk, and he might even get his hand cut off, but he had to before he lost sight of him. Running a little faster, he was finally beside Kanda, and with a deep breath, took a hold of his sleeve.

This brought Kanda to an abrupt stop, and Allen just barely managed to keep from slamming into him. Glaring down at him, Kanda snarled, "What the fuck do you think you're doing beansprout?"

"I…" Allen trailed off, and then mentally shook his head furiously. This was Kanda! He wasn't _scared_ of him! Giving him a determined stare, Allen explained, "The crowds are too rough, and if you keep this pace up I'm going to get lost."

"Che," Kanda sneered, but let him hold on without protest. Allen almost sighed in relief. Thankfully, Kanda finally realized that practically running through the city wouldn't get the Akuma to notice him, so he slowed down somewhat, making sure to stay in the middle of the large crowds, where the Rose Cross on his coat could easily be recognized. Allen didn't let go though. He knew if Kanda saw something suspicious, he'd brake off into a run and leave him in the dust. Allen had never wished more for longer legs.

Finally taking a breather, Allen began to take a better look at the crowds, searching for any Akuma with his left eye. So far, they seemed to be in the clear. Rounding the corner, Allen's eye went unnoticed as it silently activated, detecting seven Level 1s and one Level 2 up ahead. Unfortunately, Allen was short, so he could barely see above the crowd and couldn't tell which specific people were being detected. It would be better if he told Kanda sooner rather than later, but Kanda only ignored him when he tugged at his sleeve and even after he called his name out a couple of times.

"What the hell is it, beansprout?" Kanda finally growled, not even bothering to look at him. Allen didn't even bother with the nickname, knowing this wasn't the time for that.

"There are eight Akuma up ahead. Seven Level 1s and one Level 2," Allen informed him.

"How the hell—" Kanda was about to demand, but stopped short when he noticed his activated, left eye, swirling in circles of red and black.

"My eye is cursed to see the tortured souls of the Akuma," Allen simply shrugged, going with the straightforward answer. Kanda seemed a bit disturbed, but swiftly shook it off.

"Who are they?" He immediately asked, taking it in a stride.

Giving him a sheepish smile, Allen admitted, "I can't actually see them because I'm not tall enough, but they're down the street." Allen then began to tug Kanda down the left side of the road. "Come on. My eye will lead us to them." Grudgingly, Kanda allowed Allen pull him along.

Finally being able to escape the crowd, Allen pointed a couple of people out to Kanda. Before they attacked or attracted their attention though, they first had the Finder with them evacuate the crowds so that the civilians wouldn't get in the way. When they saw that he had it under control, Kanda and Allen stepped up to them. Noticing their coats, they immediately burst from their human skin.

"You take care of the Level 1s. I'll deal with the Level 2," Kanda ordered, and Allen knew better than to argue at a time like this. With all the explosions and Akuma, they soon lost sight of each other, and Allen immediately activated Crown Clown in its claw form and began to tear down all the Akuma. He thought about destroying them all at once with Cross Grave, but maybe being underestimated wouldn't be such a bad thing—especially considering it might destroy the Level 2 as well—so he did it the old fashion way, plus the exercise Crown Clown was getting felt amazing.

In a couple of minutes, Allen had already destroyed six of the seven, and from the corner of his eye, he could tell that Kanda had just defeated the Level 2. Just as he went for the last kill, he noticed that one of the bullets that he'd deflected was headed Kanda's way and with a quick shout managed to make in time to get hit in his right arm himself. He blearily noticed Kanda making quick work of the last one. Allen shut his eyes in pain. It wasn't the Akuma Virus he was worried about, since he could easily purify it. Just because it was the virus that killed you instantly, didn't mean that getting hit with a bullet didn't freakin' hurt. At least it hadn't hit anything vital.

Opening his eyes, he saw an angry Kanda storming his way. "What the fuck was that, you stupid ass beansprout?!" Kanda snarled. Feeling weakened by the virus, Allen collapsed to his knees, causing Kanda to widen his eyes as the Akuma Virus took hold and finally turned his skin a complete, ashen gray. Closing his eyes in concentration, Allen willed his Innocence to cleanse himself of the poison, and sighed in relief as it was sucked out, leaving his skin a paler white than usual. Looks like the blood loss was finally starting to take effect.

Allen noticed Kanda giving him an unidentifiable look, which he thought might've been concerned, which seemed silly, because Kanda was never concerned for him. Feeling dizzy, Allen attributed his silly delusions to the blood loss. He heard the sound of tearing fabric, and then felt a tight pressure around his arm. Trying to keep conscious, because he just knew Kanda would kill him if he were forced to carry him, Allen was quickly dragged along back to the inn. Thankfully the motherly innkeeper immediately took care of him and he soon found himself in bed, the world around him turning into a meaningless dark.

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**Time Frame — ****Morning of February 6****th****, 1895**

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Allen blearily woke up to the bright rays of the morning sun. Blinking the sleepiness out of his eye, he looked around and assessed that he was alone in the room. Kanda must've gone back to patrolling. Getting up with a wince, Allen quickly got dressed, and after being fed by the worried innkeeper, left to patrol his own side of town, knowing Kanda would be more pissed at him if he lazed around. By the time nightfall came around, Allen had barely patrolled half the sprawling city. Thankfully, he only ran into a couple Level 1s and no civilians were killed or hurt. Feeling the uncomfortable emptiness of his stomach, Allen decided to return to the inn for a quick meal.

After nonstop walking for about ten minutes—he didn't actually _try_ looking for the inn, knowing that his aimless wondering would eventually get him there—Allen finally made it to the inn. Entering, he realized with a worried frown that Kanda was arguing with the innkeeper. Moving forward and tugging at Kanda's coat to get his attention, Allen asked, "Kanda, what's wrong?"

Glancing down at him in surprise, Kanda demanded, "Beansprout! Where in the fucking hell have you been?"

"Um, doing my job," Allen answered wearily. He hadn't actually accounted for Kanda being pissed at him because he hadn't notified him of what he was doing. Then again, Timcanpy had been taking nap inside his coat, so Allen hadn't given it much thought.

"How about I get you lads something to eat?" The innkeeper nervously interrupted them. Allen nodded happily, much to her relief. Kanda just scoffed, but sat down at one of the tables nonetheless.

Sitting and swinging his legs back and forth, Allen wondered what had Kanda in such a tizzy. It's not like he cared or anything… Right?

A bit surprised, Allen realized that Kanda had definitely been asking about where he'd been—whether he was actually worried or not was another matter entirely, but you never really knew with Kanda. Either way, Allen knew he should have laughed. Should've enjoyed the fact that he was being successful in his little plan of having Kanda wrapped around his little finger. Why shouldn't he? Kanda had given him enough crap in the past before, so why shouldn't he get a little revenge? Even if this wasn't the same Kanda, it was still him. Antisocial, rude, and plain cruel. But for some stupid reason, the uncomfortable feeling of guilt was swelling up in his chest like a heavy rock, and Allen couldn't seemed to get rid of it, no matter how many different reasons he came up with for justifying his actions. In other words, Allen felt miserable.

"I'm sorry Kanda!" Allen finally blurted out, not being able to take the tense silence any longer. Kanda just grunted something inaudible in response, not even bothering to glance in his direction. This only caused Allen to feel even more dejected, not even perking up when the innkeeper placed a pile of food in front of him. Instead of happily digging into his food like usual, Allen ate his food slowly, trying not to annoy Kanda anymore than he already had. Guilt was such a nasty thing.

Suddenly, Allen felt a hand patting his head, and glancing up, Allen realized that it was Kanda, who was looking awkwardly away. It was such a funny sight, that it caused Allen to grin. Noticing, Kanda quickly withdrew his hand away with a glare, and continued to ignore him. Happy that Kanda wasn't mad anymore, Allen enthusiastically dug into his food, though a small part of Allen still churned with guilt at the way he had used Kanda in the first place. As much as he hated it, Allen knew he couldn't tell Kanda the real reason he'd apologized. The only thing he could do was stop the stupid charade.

* * *

After another day of scouting for Akuma, Allen came to the conclusion that there must be something—probably Innocence—in the city's center tower. Or at least somewhere around there. For some reason, any Akuma they fought always seemed to be gathered around the center of the city, as if attracted by something there. Allen shared his suspicions with Kanda, and after getting permission to enter the tower, they found an Innocence fragment stuck in the center. Getting rid of any lasting Akuma, they finally completed their mission and were able to leave for Headquarters that night.

Back on a train, sitting in a private compartment, Allen was—for once—not kicking his legs back and forth, or fidgeting in any sort of way. For some odd reason, he was utterly exhausted. It was weird, Kanda seemed perfectly fine and Allen usually was as well. Was this another side affect from having such a young body? His head kept bobbing up and down, his blinking seemed to be prolonged, and as much as Allen tried, his body kept swaying from side to side.

"Just sleep you stubborn ass beansprout," Kanda grunted, giving him an annoyed glance.

Allen finally gave up, and curling up on his side, he gave in to sleep at last.

* * *

Blinking his heavy eyes open, Allen realized with a slight shock that somebody was giving a piggy back ride through the Order's dark halls. Whoever was carrying him was probably taking him back to his room. Allen was about to assume that it was probably one of the Finders, but with wide eyes, noticed the sturdy, black and silver coat that did _not_ belong to a Finder, and felt long strands of hair tickling his neck. Allen almost fainted, realizing that _Kanda_ of all people was carrying him. This was so wrong and weird, Allen didn't know _what_ to think. He decided that speaking up would only make the situation more awkward, and pretended to be asleep. If Kanda noticed anything, he certainly didn't say anything.

When they finally made to Allen's room—though he had no idea how Kanda had found out where it was—he unceremoniously dumped him on his bed and quickly left. Allen just shook his head, deciding to pretend that had never happened, and went back to sleep.

* * *

**Time Frame — ****Morning of February 8****th****, 1895**

* * *

Satisfied with the completion of his 'first' mission, Allen was happily making his way to the cafeteria, eager to have some of Jerry's food, when unexpectedly, he was grabbed, blinded, and tied down. After what seemed like forever, with Allen uselessly struggling, the blindfold was removed and he came face-to-face with the Science Division.

"Um… Can I help you?" Allen nervously asked.

That hadn't been the right thing to say. Suddenly, everything erupted into chaos when everyone began to argue amongst each other so loudly, Allen couldn't make anything out. He'd never been so frighten.

"EVERYBODY!" Reever yelled out, successfully gaining all their attention. "Alright, everyone who doesn't believe me, raise your hand." After half the room raised their hands grudgingly, Reever pointed to one of them and commanded, "You then! Explain what's not to believe."

"He can't just waltz in here and suddenly know! We've been trying to figure this out for years!" Though the scientist replying tried sounding reasonable, it came out more as a whine.

"So just because someone was smart enough to figure it out faster than you, they're automatically wrong?" Reever questioned him, giving a pointed look to everyone who'd raised their hand as well. Everyone looked too ashamed to speak up.

"Uh, Reever? What is this about?" Allen asked.

With a sigh, Reever turned to him and reminded him, "Remember that thing you promised me before you left on your mission?"

Furrowing his brows, Allen thought back to Reever's desperate cries and recalling what he hadn't been able to tell him, Allen let out a small, "Ah."

"Unfortunately, I was dumb enough to tell everyone, and half of them didn't believe me," Reever sighed.

"Well if he's asleep now, I'm sure we could easily prove it," Allen smiled, trying to reassure him.

"And exactly how did _you_ figure it out so quickly?" An unnamed scientist gave him a suspicious look.

"Wouldn't _you_ like to know?" Allen asked tauntingly, sticking his tongue out at him. Realizing what he'd done a moment later, Allen widened his eyes in surprise and then blushed, mortified. What was wrong with him?! Why was it so hard to control these silly and childish urges?

But the scientists just laughed at his actions, and quickly untying him, they all led him towards Komui's office, and pushed him inside. Peeking through the door, the numerous scientists waited impatiently, wondering if Allen could really do it. Allen just walked casually towards Komui and after saying the dreaded words, had him desperately yelling out, "NOOOOOOOOOO!"

The scientists' mouths practically dropped to the ground. Allen quickly calmed Komui down, and after Reever shouted at him to get to work, they swiftly exited his office. Closing the door behind him, Allen turned to find all the scientists bowing down at him, some were even on their knees, apologizing profusely.

Frantically waving his hands in front of him, Allen said, "It's fine. If you all stop doing that, I'll tell you the key words!"

That had their attention. Suddenly they were all standing and leaning eagerly towards him, but just as Allen was about to say the special phrase, they all heard yelling down the corridor. Specifically Kanda, which only served to confuse Allen. If Lavi wasn't here, who else would be around to taunt him? The answer came in the form of a wild brown-haired boy, with odd purple streaks that extended from his eyes down to his cheeks, and wore a ragged Exorcist-type cloak with a large hood and bell attached to it.

"Give Mugen the hell back you fucking jackass!" Kanda snarled, almost catching up to the older boy.

"Aww, but I was having such fun pretending to be a samurai!" The older boy taunted with a laugh. Allen would've snickered along with him, but remembering what Kanda had done last night for him, he thought he owed him. So as the older boy ran past him, Allen 'accidentally' stuck his foot out, causing him to tumble and crash on the floor with a painful thud.

Gasping, Allen crouched down next to him. "Are you okay? I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to do that!"

The only response he got was a pained groan. Kanda, having caught up to them, snatched Mugen out of the other boy's grasp with a heated glare. "Oh, hi Kanda! Fancy meeting you here," Allen greeted, giving him an innocent smile, though Kanda might've seen through this one, because he gave him a silent thanks by patting him on the head and swiftly walked away, but not before giving the brown-haired boy a swift kick to the head, causing the older boy to whimper.

Feeling slightly guilty now, though not that much since the older boy _had_ brought it upon himself, Allen attempted to shake him from his dazed state. After a couple of minutes, he was finally able to get up, though not without stumbling slightly. "You alright?" Allen asked.

"Huh?" He looked down at Allen as if finally noticing him for the first time and then leaned down to look at him in the eye, asking with a frown, "Aren't you a little runty to be an Exorcist?"

At this, he received a harsh kick to the shins. Allen almost smacked himself, realizing that he still didn't have a very good control on his maturity.

"Actually," one of the scientists piped up in a matter-of-fact voice, "Allen Walker was reported to have a 127 percent synchro rate with his Innocence."

"No way," he said surprised while rubbing his aching shins, and gave him an appraising look, causing Allen to fidget. He'd never met this Exorcist, so he wasn't sure what to expect, though if the scene he'd just watch was anything to go by…

"I'm Daisya Barry," Daisya finally introduced himself and then asked, "Say Allen, you wouldn't happen to know how to play soccer?"

"What's soccer?" Allen asked curiously.

"Seriously?! It's the best sport in the world! Come on, I gotta teach you!" Daisya grabbed his arm and was about to drag him along, but suddenly the Science Division grabbed onto him and pulled him back.

"No way are you taking our hero just yet! He hasn't even told us the secret!" One of the scientists declared, causing Allen to sweatdrop at his newly given title.

"_Hero_? And what secret?" Daisya asked curiously.

"The boy figured out how to wake up Komui!" Another one exclaimed.

"Really! You actually figured it out, kid? So, come out with it, what's the secret?" Daisya asked excitedly, surprising Allen. Apparently it wasn't only the scientists that had taken on the challenge of trying to wake Komui up.

Before Allen could answer, another one of the scientist butted in. "No, Allen! Don't tell him. He'll just use it to his advantage and exploit it!" Despite this, Daisy didn't look a bit deterred.

"I have a feeling he'd find out either way," Allen commented dryly.

"Got that right, kid!" Daisya confirmed with a mischievous smirk.

"Well it's simple really. You just need to whisper three simple words in his ear," Allen began causing everyone to lean forward in anticipation. "Lenalee's getting married."

Everyone blinked in surprise and then groaned while muttering things like "I should've known" and "I'm so stupid", causing Allen to grin.

"So how'd you figure it out?" Daisya asked as he began to lead him away from the dispersing scientists.

"It's a secret~!" Allen purposefully laughed childishly. Allen was getting sick of the lies, so for once decided to go with the truth. Thankfully, Daisya just shook his head and laughed.

"So, you wanna go play soccer with me?" Daisya asked eagerly.

"Sure!" Allen replied, but then feeling the emptiness in his stomach, he added, "Mind if I go eat something first?"

"Sure, kid. I'll meet you in the cafeteria. I'll just go back to my room and grab my soccer ball," he agreed. Parting ways, Allen quickly followed his nose, and hurriedly ordered a meal. Being a kid again, and never actually getting the chance to play any sort of games, it made sense that Allen was undoubtedly excited. By the time Daisya made it to the cafeteria, Allen had already finished and put his dishes away. Noticing this, Daisya quickly led the way.

"So how do you play soccer? And where can we play it?" Allen eagerly asked.

"Well, there's this clearing in the forest where I spray painted the field lines. It'll be easier to explain once we get there, so I can show you," Daisya explained.

"So, how come you offered to teach me?" Allen asked curiously. He would've thought that the older teenager would've just looked down on him and treated him like a nuisance.

Shrugging, Daisya simply answered, "I haven't played soccer with anyone for years. Most of the Exorcists are grownups and are way too uptight, Kanda is Kanda, and anytime I get so much as near Lenalee, Komui starts going ape-shit crazy on me."

Allen nodded in understanding. Soon after that, they exited the tower and after trekking through the forest for a couple of minutes, they made it into a clearing. Looking around, Allen noticed weird, white markings littering the grass as well as a couple of trees. Leading Allen towards the center of the rectangle, Daisya explained the basics of the game. "Okay, so we don't actually have nets for the goals, or goals for that matter, so we'll just make do with what we have. Alright, you see those two trees behind me that are marked in white?" At Allen's nod, he continued, "You're job is to kick the ball in between them; no hands of course. You can use any body part but your arms and hands. Now, at the same time, you also have to protect your own goal." At this he indicated the marked trees behind Allen.

"Normally the game is played in teams. You know, the goalie, offense and defense," Daisya explained.

Catching on, Allen finished for him, "So we have to play all three at once?"

"Well yeah, but technically, we can't officially play goalie, them being the only players that can actually touched the ball with their hands, so you'll have to make do with just playing defense and offense," Daisya explained.

Allen nodded; it seemed simple enough. "Wait, what are all the markings for?"

"Huh? Oh, don't worry about those. If we did have full teams, there would be certain positions that certain players wouldn't be able to leave. For example, the defensive players would have to stay strictly on the side they're defending," he replied.

"Oh okay," Allen nodded, and then exclaimed, "Come on, let's start!"

So they did. For the rest of the rest of the day, they played and played, eventually losing count of all the times Allen had lost, which made Allen all the more determined to make a goal against the expert soccer player that Daisya was. By the time Allen did make his first goal—which he only managed because he got frustrated enough to kick Daisya in the shins again—it was already nightfall, and Allen was so exhausted that he collapsed on the grass. He'd long ago gotten rid of his Exorcist coat and had shoved his long sleeves above his elbows.

"That was totally cheating you twerp!" Daisya whined, rubbing his aching shins. Those boots had been sturdier than they looked.

"It's… Allen," Allen gasped, though he wasn't all that angry. That had been the most fun he'd had since never. "That was fun!" He told Daisya after he regained his breath.

"I'm glad you enjoyed getting your ass kicked," Daisya smirked, sitting down next to him while bouncing the old soccer ball up and down. Allen just stuck his tongue out in response.

After resting for a bit, they got up and begin heading in for dinner. By the time they made it to the cafeteria, it was already full. Just as they entered, they noticed Lenalee heading their way.

"Allen, where have you been?" Lenalee asked.

"I was playing soccer with Daisya," Allen was all too happy to reply.

With a wrinkle of her nose, she responded, "That would explain the stink and your state of clothes. You're not actually thinking of having dinner like that?!"

"Um, yeah I'm starving," Allen said.

"No way mister! You are going to the baths and taking a shower first!" Lenalee ordered, using that no-nonsense voice that he knew he wouldn't be able to argue with. Grumbling something inaudible, Allen turned and passing a snickering Daisya, heard him mutter the word, "Whipped!"

Before Allen could kick him in the shins again, Lenalee demanded, "You too Daisya! You are not coming into the dining hall smelling and looking like that! Now go with Allen!"

All too willing, Daisya was soon following Allen.

"What was that about being whipped?" Allen asked with a smirk.

"OW!"

"Serves you right, you brat!"

"It's _Allen_!"

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**A/N: **Well, that's it for this chapter. Like I mentioned before, I want Allen to recreate his friendships—whether they be new or old. I guess this might not be very interesting for some of you, since some might want immediate action. I don't know, why don't you tell me what you think? Also, I've never played soccer before, so sorry for any mistakes!

And feel free to give me any ideas you'd like. Whether I'll include them or not is another matter entirely, but I wouldn't mind listening to your thoughts(: I don't think there'll be any pairings in this story, since I'd probably be no good at romance either way. I'm not really sure though, I've never really tried my hand at writing a romance story, or will anytime soon(x

Haha, anyway, I'd appreciate if you'd review please.

**P.S.** If anyone would be willing to give me some constructive criticism, it'd be greatly appreciated!(:


	3. Newcomer

**A/N: **Yay, I got more reviews!(x Thank you so much to **NirvanaFrk97**, **EpikalStorms**, **Lenore91**, **bougainvillea blossom**, **Kaite1211**, **lily**, **myangelicladyofdarkness**, **Dana**, **Jazebeth**, **KoiKyuuiKitai**, **Ennael**, and **ifanybodyasksimreading** for all reviewing!^.^ You were all very nice and considerate, offering me actual sentence-long reviews!(;

Nothing much to say on this chapter, except that it's going to end on a more serious note then I intended it to. Like some of you might not have expected the way Allen and Kanda's interaction would turn out, it'll probably be the same with Allen and Lavi's relationship in the beginning. But other than that, please enjoy!(:

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**Disclaimer****: **Nope! I'm just a teenage girl who could only ever hope to own something like **D. Gray-Man**:'/

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Chapter 3

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**Time Frame — ****Morning of February 20****th****, 1895**

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—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

Allen quickly ducked in slight shock, as he was almost ran over by a group of scientists and Finders speedily walking down the corridor with a dangerous stack of supplies.

_Great, it's __**that**__ time of year again… _Allen thought grimly. And by that, he meant the time of year that Komui went crazy trying to throw a "surprise" birthday party for Lenalee. Really, no matter how many times they'd tried telling him, they were never able to convince him that Lenalee would _never_ be surprised. At least, not after the first time he threw one for her tenth birthday. There was just no stopping that man.

With an exasperated shake of his head, Allen was about to continue on his way to—you guessed it!—the dining hall. Or at least, that was the plan until he was suddenly yanked unwillingly into a dark corridor. Allen yelped lightly, and then looking up, he realized that it was just Lenalee. What was up with people interrupting his eating time? It was the most important time of the day!

"What is it Lenalee?" Allen asked, noticing her nervous stance.

"Sorry. It's just that anytime Brother sees me, he freaks out and tries to lock me in my room," Lenalee explained with a blush of embarrassment. "Anyway, since he expects me to be in there all morning, I was wondering if you wanted to go into town with me for a couple hours. I asked Kanda, but he refused." At this, she gave a frustrated pout.

"Sure Lenalee. Let me just change out of my Exorcist coat. We don't need anybody coming back from a mission and spotting us, only to report us to Komui," Allen said with a grimace, already imagining the consequences if Komui were informed that he was alone with his little sister.

Nodding, Lenalee agreed eagerly, "That's a good idea. I'll go change as well. Meet you back here in ten?"

"Sure, I'll see you then," Allen replied, and quickly headed back to his room. Switching from his Exorcist coat to his regular black coat, as well as pulling on his gray knitted hat, Allen snatched up the remaining money he had left from his travels—some of which was depleted thanks to Road's sweet tooth. He figured he could buy something for her, since it was her birthday and all.

Soon enough, they were sneaking down to the canals, using the back and unused halls of the Order, taking care to avoid anyone. They were just about to climb onto the boat when a voice caused them to jump in shock. "Well well well. What do we have here? Two children sneaking out on a date?"

Cautiously turning around, they realized with a relieved sigh that it was just Daisya. Rolling his eyes at his antics, Allen said, "It's not a date. We're just trying to escape Komui's birthday party rampage."

"Oh, so you mean you wouldn't mind if I tagged along to chaperone your little outing?"

Allen and Lenalee gave each other unamused glances and then asked Daisya in unison, "What did you do this time?"

"Why would you assume such a thing?" Daisya smirked confidently. When they said nothing, Daisya slumped down and admitted, "Okay, so maybe I had a little run-in with a certain sword-wielding Exorcist…"

They both winced, knowing how vicious Kanda could be when angered. Finally, Allen spoke up, "Your Exorcist cloak is too conspicuous. If you can make it to your room and change and be back here within five minutes, _unnoticed_, then maybe we'll allow you to tag along."

Daisya wasted no second, and was soon back in less than the time Allen had granted him, dressed in a more casual top, as he had kept his Exorcist pants and boots, having had no time to get out of those. It wasn't too long before they were entering the large town near the outskirts of Headquarters.

"Where do you want to go first Lenalee?" Allen asked.

Giving him a sheepish smile, she answered, "Sorry, I didn't actually think this through. I just wanted to get away from all the chaos."

"Well I for one am starving. Let's go get some breakfast," Daisya suggested, and was soon leading them to a quaint little café. Lenalee and Allen agreed easily enough, not having had the opportunity to get any back at Headquarters, as they'd been too busy sneaking around.

Sitting around, Allen enjoyed his time with them, and ordered what to him would be considered a snack—he couldn't really afford his regular amount of food and he figured he could eat once back at the Order. Allen could already imagine all the delicious food Jerry must have cooked up for Lenalee's birthday party. This turned out to be a smart decision, as he ended up paying for the meals of a sheepish Lenalee and Daisya—Exorcist, after all, weren't really paid well, but Allen didn't mind.

"So Allen, why don't you tell us about yourself?" Lenalee suggested with an encouraging smile, leaning slightly forward in her seat.

Allen gave her an uncomfortable shrug, knowing his past wasn't a very nice one, but when her expectant smile didn't budge, he gave her a small summary. "Not much to tell really. Orphan; lived on the streets for while; eventually worked at a circus and later adopted by my father. We worked as travelling entertainers. My Innocence finally activated a year ago where I was picked up by General Cross and here I am."

Lenalee didn't seem too satisfied with his discouraging answer, not that he could really blame her. "Do you miss your father?" Lenalee eventually asked cautiously.

"Terribly," Allen answered with a nostalgic smile. There hadn't been a day gone by that he still regretted his actions from that wintery night, not that that would let him be stopped from following Mana's mantra. It was the only thing that had kept him going before befriending everyone at the Order.

"So what's up with that weird thing on your face?" Daisya asked so insensitively while chewing on a piece of toast, Allen almost wanted to laugh. The fact that he made it sound so normal and not like some freaky deformity as everyone else did, seemed a little unreal. Lenalee not so subtly kicked him underneath the table, causing Daisya to yelp.

"You don't have to answer that if you don't want to," Lenalee replied nervously, as if Daisya's question might have triggered an unwanted reaction.

Allen just shook his head and responded, "It's alright. Mana, my father, gave this to me."

The duo stared at him in slight shock. Daisya then scowled and muttered loud enough for them to hear, "Why the fuck would he…?"

"It's not like that. After what I did, I deserved it," Allen sighed, fidgeting with the napkin in his hand.

"Allen, there's nothing anybody could have done to deserve that," Lenalee frowned worriedly.

Allen shook his head and elaborated, "Lenalee, you don't understand. I… I turned Mana into an Akuma." When all they could do was stare in astonishment, Allen continued, "He cursed me. He cursed me to forever see the tortured souls of the Akuma… and then I killed him."

Lenalee gasped and murmured in a horrified whisper, "So when you said you activated your Innocence a year ago, you meant…?" At Allen's affirmative nod, Lenalee's wide, amethyst eyes filled with tears, causing Allen to panic. He hadn't meant for her to cry! How could he have been so stupid? Allen should have known that Lenalee wasn't as mature as she used to be, and doubtlessly more sensitive as well.

"It's alright Lenalee!" Allen waved his hands anxiously. "I came to terms with what happened long ago, and it's one of my reasons for becoming an Exorcist." Allen then thought to long ago, when he and Crown Clown had come to an understanding and without thinking about it, began to speak in a small voice, "That's why I became an Exorcist. To fight for… To live for… For those precious to me. For the freedom of the Akuma's souls. For my friends."

"Allen…" Lenalee whispered. With a jolt and a blush of embarrassment, Allen realized he'd spoken aloud.

Before either could say anymore though, they felt a hand ruffling their hair. Glancing up, they realized it was Daisya giving them that annoying smirk of his. "Come on you two! Quit being so serious!" He then proceeded to drag both youths out of the café and after strolling through the lively town for a bit, Daisya finally led them into a small, clothing and accessories shop for youths.

"What are we doing here, Daisya?" Allen asked curiously.

"Well, we need to get something for the birthday girl, obviously, or Komui will have our heads," Daisya explained, finally letting them go as he began to browse around the store.

Shaking her head, Lenalee objected, "No, it's alright you guys. I don't really need you to get me anything. Having you around is enough." Allen offered her a grin, but they both ignored her protests and split up to look around the available items. After a bit, Allen spotted a pair of long, thick and silky, crimson ribbons that reminded Allen of Lenalee's crystallized Dark Boots. Smiling nostalgically, Allen bought them from the store's owner while Lenalee was distracted with something else. Just as he was about to turn around though, he spotted a familiar, forest green bandana displayed behind the counter with a couple others. Not giving it a second thought, Allen finally used the last of his money to buy it and quickly pocketed it inside his coat before his other two companions noticed.

Satisfied with his actions, Allen then proceeded to sneak up behind an unsuspecting Lenalee and ordered her to close her eyes for a moment. Trusting him, Lenalee did as she was told and didn't question when Allen suddenly began to gently tug at her pigtails. For his part, Allen was tying a ribbon on each pigtail so that the scarlet ribbons would flow down along her dark, thick hair, making the vibrant colors stand out. Finishing up, Allen directed her towards a nearby mirror and then allowed her to open her eyes. Opening her eyes, Lenalee let out a small gasp as she gazed in admiration at the beautiful ribbons cascading down along with her long pigtails.

"They're gorgeous Allen! Thank you so much!" Lenalee gushed with a beaming smile and gave him a quick hug.

"Don't forget about me Lenalee!" Daisya called as he left the counter with his usual confident grin. Before either could respond, Daisya suddenly tossed a silver chain in the air, which landed perfectly around Lenalee's neck. Looking down, Lenalee realized that a simple, silver, oval-shaped pendant hung from it. Gently taking it in her hands, she managed to open it with a click.

"You're always going on about family, so I figured you could put some picture or the other in there," Daisya simply shrug as he began to lead them outside the shop.

"Thank you very much Daisya!" Lenalee responded excitedly while giving him a quick hug as well. As they continued walking out the shop and through town, Lenalee curiously asked, "Say, when do you two celebrate your birthdays?"

"April 5th," Daisya simply shrugged nonchalantly.

"December 25th," Allen also replied when he realized Lenalee was giving him an expectant look.

"Wow! Your birthday's on Christmas? Doesn't it suck to be told the present you're getting counts for both?" Daisya asked.

"Not really. I like my birthday," Allen beamed truthfully. It was the day Mana had adopted him after all, and it's not like he had received very many presents during his lifetime. One of the few had been Mana's treasured pocket watch, but that had been taken one of the first times his Master had thrown him at a pair of debt collectors, not that he'd ever told anyone. To this day, he still felt guilty and ashamed over losing Mana's precious gift.

Before anymore could be said between the trio, they were interrupted by an annoyingly familiar voice. Allen grimaced.

"Allen~!" Next thing he knew, Allen was sprawled on the sidewalk with a pair of lips on his. Unlike the first time in the Ark, Allen wasn't able to catch her because of his lack of height and strength. Why hadn't he seen this coming?

"Hello Road," Allen sighed when he was able to speak again.

"Oh, come on Allen~! Don't be that way! And after I went to the trouble of looking for you!" Road giggled and then pouted.

"Well does your Millenie approve?" Allen asked expectantly, recalling she had mentioned him last time. Speaking of which, he briefly wondered where Lero was. He rarely saw her without him in tow.

Road merely shrugged as she finally picked herself off him and helped him up. "He says as long as long as I'm not bored~! Plus, when this is over and done with, we still get to have our chosen! Might as well find one or two," she explained, which made Allen question the fact of her knowledge on him. It wouldn't surprise Allen if she did know of his occupation, unless she couldn't detect Innocence like the Akuma, but that had never really been proven one way or another. In the end though, Allen just gave her a curious look since he wasn't suppose to know about her in the first place.

"Allen, who's this?" Lenalee finally asked a bit suspiciously. Exorcists, after all, weren't allowed to keep in contact with any previous affiliations they had, unless they were admitted into the Order as well.

"This is Road. Road, this is Lenalee," Allen introduced them with a cringe. Why was this happening?

"Wow, Lenalee! You're very pretty! And I like your hair! You'd make a very nice doll," Road giggled.

"Um, thank you," Lenalee blushed.

"Road!" Allen groaned in exasperation. "You can't go around wanting to convert others into your own personal dolls."

"Aww, but why not Allen~!? Normal dolls are boring and break too easily," Road whined while clinging to his arm. Unfortunately, Allen knew what she truly meant by that "breaking" as well. Lenalee, for her part, blinked in shock, not having expected for the girl to mean it literally. She then frowned. Allen must have known this girl very well to easily pick up on what she meant. From what he'd told them of his past, it didn't seem likely he'd had the opportunity to get to know anyone very well.

"And this is Daisya," Allen finally introduced his other companion for the lack of anything else to say. Unluckily, he realized too late that it was probably a bad idea considering Daisya's mischievous smirk. What stupidity was he going to say this time around?

"Why, Allen! You never told us you had a girlfriend! And to think we're your friends!" Daisya shook his head in mock disappointment.

"Yeah Allen! I talked to Millenie all about you! So much in fact, he ordered me to come see you straight away!" Road nodded in a matter-of-fact voice.

"Well, for one, you're _not _my girlfriend. And two, it never really came up," Allen shrugged while discreetly rolling his eyes.

"Well it's decided then! I, Road Kamelot, will be your girlfriend from now on!" Road declared while throwing her arms around him. Not giving him a chance to protest, Road gave him a peck on the cheek—it'd originally been aimed for his lips, but he'd managed to turn his head just in time, though she didn't seem the slightest bit put off. "Bye-bye Allen~! If I spend too much time with you, Daddy will find out and kill you! Let's try to delay that for as long as possible, kay~!?" And with that bit of lovely news and a cheerful wave, Road skipped away, down the street and around the corner beaming all the while.

Allen sweatdropped.

"That girl sure knows how to take charge!" Daisya laughed.

"Allen, where do you know this girl from?" Lenalee asked with a suspicious look, causing Allen to gulp nervously. She couldn't know!

"Uh, I met her once before. When I was passing through here on my way to join the Order three weeks ago," Allen explained, deciding to go with the truth of this reality.

"Wow! You sure must have made an impression kid!" Daisya nodded approvingly while giving him a hard slap on the back, causing Allen to stumble slightly forward. Regaining his balance, Allen just shook his head knowing there would be no arguing with him.

"We should probably be heading back now. Komui will probably be finishing everything up soon," Allen suggested realizing how close to noon it already was. Realizing the same for themselves, Daisya and Lenalee scurried along with Allen, hoping they hadn't been missed.

* * *

Komui didn't disappoint. The party he had organized was much more extravagant then all the welcoming parties held for new Exorcists put together. Not only that, but he'd made sure that every single Exorcist was attending, with the exception of all the generals and any pupils they had of course. Sadly, this included Miranda, since unlike last time, they didn't have an urgent need for Exorcists. Allen had long ago lost track of Lenalee, but he contented himself with all the food available, much to the shock of all those who had yet to meet him. To Allen's happiness, Jerry had actually made a single table of food all for him and had clearly labeled it "Allen's Food". Allen had definitely enjoyed that.

Unfortunately, he wasn't sure what to do at the moment. Lenalee was being swept in a crowd of presents and Daisya and Kanda were nowhere to be found—not that Kanda would have been his first choice either way. Plus, since the rest of the Exorcists were all grownups, they either looked down on him in annoyance or pity, and it was starting to get on his nerves. Allen continued walking through the crowds hoping to see a friendly face when he suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Well, he'd spotted somebody alright. And that face belonged to none other than Suman Dark.

Well for one, he looked absolutely miserable. Not that Allen could blame him after seeing his memories. But still, despite knowing it wasn't his fault that Suman had ended up dead, Allen couldn't seem to stop the overwhelming feeling of guilt bloom and settle in his chest like an uncomfortable rock. After a minute of putting himself together, Allen took a deep breath and slowly made his way over to where he was sitting. Suman didn't notice him, so Allen took the liberty of tapping his shoulder. "Hello. Nice to meet you. My name's Allen Walker," Allen introduced himself with a tentative smile when Suman looked down at him in surprise, though he couldn't seem to keep the nervousness out of his voice.

Suman didn't answer for moment causing Allen to worry, until he noticed Suman staring at his Exorcist coat—he'd switched into it when they'd gotten back—with an obvious frown of disapproval. "This place keeps getting worse and worse. What the hell are they thinking dragging children into this? Tell me kid, how old are you?" Suman finally looked at him and Allen winced, knowing he should've expected that sort of response. Suman's intense gaze softened when he noticed Allen's reaction, probably assuming he'd scared him.

Before he had a chance to apologize though, Allen answered, "I just recently turned thirteen."

"So younger than Miss Lee I see," Suman grimaced.

Allen fidgeted for a moment, wondering what he should say when Suman unexpectedly spoke up, "I'm Suman. Suman Dark."

"Nice to meet you Mr. Dark," Allen answered politely, with a small sigh of relief.

"You may call me Suman," Suman allowed with a nod.

Allen wondered what he should say next, when he recalled something Johnny had told him long ago. "Suman, do you know how to play chess?"

Suman blinked at him in slight shock before asking him, "You know how to play chess?"

"Well, no," Allen blushed, "But I'd really like to learn." Allen figured a small, white lie couldn't hurt, plus it wasn't like actually learning it would be such a horrid thing.

"Well, yes, I do in fact have a chess set. We could go now if you'd like," Suman suggested, and Allen noticed with relieved smile that Suman didn't look as dejected as before. He actually seemed to perk up somewhat. Allen nodded in agreement, and they both slipped unnoticed out of the dining hall and headed towards Suman's room. It wasn't long before Suman had set up the chess board and was explaining all the rules to Allen.

Allen eventually noticed that despite Suman's love for the game, he wasn't very good at it. It mostly had to do with the fact that he sort of rushed into it by going with the first idea he had instead of thinking of all the possibilities and what the outcome of his actions might be. In other words, by their ninth game, Allen finally had him beat.

"What! That's not possible!" Suman argued with a low mutter, looking intensely at the chess board as if waiting for it to give him the answers on how he could have possibly lost. Unfortunately for him, it was clearly obvious. Allen had checkmated him through and through.

"So is!" Allen grinned victoriously. Who knew winning after so many losses could be so satisfactory?

A knock to the door prevented them from further arguing. "Come in!" Suman called out.

The door opened to reveal Johnny. "Hey Suman! I—" Johnny cut himself off when he noticed Allen. "Allen! There you are! We were wondering where you were. Stealing my chess partner was the least I expected!" Johnny exclaimed with cheerful laugh, causing Allen to give him a sheepish smile.

"Anyway, you should probably go on back and speak with Lenalee. She was looking for you and I think she's starting to get worried," Johnny suggested.

Allen nodded and slipped off the chair and out the door, but not before calling back, "Thanks for the game Suman! It was a lot of fun!"

Allen distantly heard Johnny teasing Suman on how many times he'd lost as he headed back towards the dining hall—by following the scent food of course—figuring that would be a good place to start. Thankfully, despite the diminishing people, Lenalee was still there.

"Lenalee!" Allen called out. Turning to look at him, she gave him a relieved smile and waved him over to where she was. Once he was near, Lenalee spoke up, "There you are Allen! Where did you go off to?"

"I'm really sorry Lenalee!" Allen apologized, realizing he'd technically ditched her party. "I was playing chess with Suman and must have lost track of time."

"That was nice of him. I'm glad you enjoyed yourself!" Lenalee beamed. "Anyway, a large portion of my presents included candy among other things, and I was wondering if you'd like some. I already offered some to Komui, Daisya, and Jerry. Kanda of course can't stand them," she giggled.

"Sure! I'd love some," Allen nodded eagerly, knowing better than to refuse Lenalee.

"Great!" Digging around all the paper wrappings, she pulled out a small stash of candy. Smelling the delicious treats, it wasn't long before Allen had gobbled them up.

"I'm glad you enjoyed them!" Lenalee laughed at his enthusiasm, to which Allen nodded eagerly, the last piece of candy—a lollipop—still in his mouth. "Anyway, I'm going to gather everything else up and take it to my room. After that, I'm going to help out in cleaning the cafeteria."

It didn't really surprise Allen that she would clean up after her own party, so he just nodded and said around the lollipop in his mouth, "I'll 'elp out!"

Lenalee accepted his help graciously, and allowed him to carry half her gifts to her room. It wasn't too long before they arrived, though Allen didn't even get a foot near the door of her room—you never knew when there was a Komurin around the corner, or worst, Komui himself! Lenalee must have realized this as well, because she let out an embarrassed sigh and didn't question him when she came back to take the rest of her stuff in. Allen ended up chewing up the rest of his sweet lollipop in nervousness.

Just as they were heading back though, Lenalee came to an unexpected stop. "That's right! This is what I wanted to show you! Komui helped me out by using the pictures we have for every Exorcist's profile," Lenalee rambled. Allen didn't understand what she meant until she reached inside her coat and pulled her silver locket out. Opening it up with a small click, Lenalee demonstrated the inside, which now contained pictures within. On one side, was a picture of Komui and Lenalee herself, and on the other side were pictures of Allen, Daisya, and Kanda obviously fitted together on purpose.

"I… I feel bad, because I couldn't include everyone I care about. Guilty, because I know a lot are very a precious to me. They're my family!" Lenalee explained anxiously, causing Allen himself to feel guilty. This must be the reason she'd been looking for him, and he hadn't even been around. Before he had a chance to attempt to reassure her though, she took on a determined gaze and continued, "But I chose you four, because I cherish you very much. You're the closest people I have, and I know we haven't known each other for very long Allen, but I feel like I might have met you in another lifetime. Or am I just being delusional?" At this, Lenalee ducked her head with a blush, looking slightly mortified.

Allen shook his head with an internal wince, and was quick to reassure her. "No, it's okay Lenalee. I know what you mean. I know _exactly_ what you mean."

"I'm glad, because I was starting to feel a bit silly," Lenalee replied sheepishly.

"And I care about you too Lenalee," Allen added with a gentle smile. "Now come on! I'm sure the cleaning crew must be dying without our help!"

"Right!" Lenalee laughed.

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of February 28****th****, 1895**

* * *

It was only about a week after Lenalee's birthday that the Bookmen Clan was finally allowed to join the Holy War in order to be documented for their numerous records—this mostly had to do with two of its members being compatible with the Innocence, which had easily worked to both sides' advantages. In the end, after much negotiating, the Bookmen Clan would be allowed to record the Holy War without being tied down to the Black order, but in exchange, their services as Exorcists would be required.

But Allen wasn't focused on any of this. He had seen straight through all this information and had only thought of one thing, or in reality, person—Lavi. Allen wouldn't be lying if he said he was scared out of his mind. Despite his comraderie and friendship with Lavi in the past, Allen's mind kept drifting back to the words Lavi had once told him.

"_I am not your comrade. I never thought of you guys as my friends, even once. I am the successor to the Bookmen line, nothing more."_

And ever since then, he had doubted. Doubted Lavi's genuineness; his words; his actions. Of course, he hadn't said anything, and rarely had had the time to contemplate it with everything that had occurred afterwards. But in the folds of the night, when he should have been resting, he'd mulled over what being a Bookman really meant, and hadn't been happy with the outcome. Was Lavi nothing more than an act, or had they wormed their way into his heart? When he saw him, he couldn't help but think back to when that same, vibrant green eye had looked at him so cold and uncaring. Like he was nothing but another character in his recording book. And it hurt him. Hurt him so much to think that he was nothing to the one he thought of as his best friend.

Allen shook his head with a sigh, knowing if he lagged any longer, Lenalee would start to worry and finally begun to make his way towards the dining hall for breakfast, where Allen knew Lenalee would be talking with _him_. Time to face the music.

Allen managed to enter and order breakfast, before Lenalee noticed him and called him out. "Allen, over here!" Figuring his food wouldn't be ready for a bit, Allen walked over, trying not to focus on the piercing gaze Lavi was giving him.

"Allen, there you are! I was wondering why you weren't here sooner. Anyway, this is our new comrade, Lavi!" Lenalee enthusiastically introduced the Bookman Junior, as well as confirmed Allen's suspicions on her wondering where he'd been.

"Nice to meet you. My name's Allen Walker," Allen introduced himself politely. Despite Lavi's easygoing attitude, there was something that greatly unnerved Allen about it, he just couldn't seem to pinpoint what exactly.

"Nice to meet you there shortstack!" Lavi laughed, his usual mischievous smirk playing on his lips. But still, there was something about him that was making Allen slightly anxious. But why could nobody else see it? Was it something attributed to him being a Bookman? But he'd always been one. So why did Allen feel so uneasy?

"It's _Allen_," he pouted good naturedly, figuring he could go along with it 'til he could figure out what was wrong.

Nothing much happened from then on. At least, nothing out of the ordinary for the Black Order. Lavi almost had a heart attack from Allen's appetite; Johnny harassed him over his future Exorcist uniform; and everyone got a good laugh over Lavi's general newness in the Order's ways. Lenalee even convinced Lavi to be taken on a tour throughout the Order, despite his protests and reasoning over the fact that he'd already been taken on one a couple weeks ago when they'd been here to do more negotiating. But Lenalee would have none of it and Allen decided to tag along.

It was fun for the most part—despite Allen _still_ not being able to figure out what was out of place with Lavi. By the time dinner came about, Johnny had finally completed Lavi's new Exorcist uniform, having worked on it nonstop since that morning. After much encouragement from all of them, Lavi finally decided to go on ahead and put it on. Although it was a new and cool sight for everyone else, to Allen, it was like looking back on an old and nostalgic memory. Back to the days when everything made sense, and they all knew their purpose. Before they all begin to question what was truly right.

It was after dinner that Allen and Lavi were called to Komui's office. For once, he was actually awake and ready to brief them on their mission. "Hello, boys. Because Lavi will not have time to be trained by a general do to his Bookman duties, I've decided to pair him up with someone very experienced for his first assignment," Komui explain, while giving Allen a piercing look. At first he didn't understand, but then Allen thought back to when Hevlaska had announced his synchronization rate with Crown Clown, and realized that Komui was pairing Lavi up with the closest thing they had to a general at the moment. Even if that closest thing to a general was a thirteen-year-old boy. Komui must have thought this through quite a bit.

Due to this, Lavi gave him a slightly surprised look, but then shook it off and turned back to Komui. "Where's Gramps?"

"There are still some last minute preparations that he has to attend to, so he'll be busy for the next couple of days. Do not worry, he is the one who suggested that you begin to learn how to go about your Exorcist duties," Komui reassured him. Having succeeded, he moved on to the debriefing of the mission. Standing up from his cluttered desk, he took out one of the many rolled up maps, and unfurled it on the table for a clear view of Southern Europe. "See here? This is where your mission will take place. It's a large forest north of Albania. Here, west of the forest lies a large lake, where nearby villagers would go fishing for food. Unfortunately, something seems to be lurking there. Villagers have reported a strange creature to be terrorizing away the fish, which has significantly depleted the food supply. When Finders were sent in to investigate, two were reported to disappear. Five days later, their corpses were found on the shores of the lake," Komui explained grimly.

Lavi and Allen glanced at each other nervously. Komui continued, "No Akuma have been sighted just yet, but we're not taking any chances. Whatever is creeping down there isn't to be taken lightly, so we're taking action faster then we normally would have. Here, take these and read these on your way there for more information," Komui advised, handing them over the usual pamphlets. Unfortunately, they were thinner then they usually were, making Allen confirm that they really were taking action fast.

Throughout all this, Allen had also been trying to recall everything he had learned as an Exorcist, even the small things that seemed small and instinctual to him. If Komui was really serious about this, then Allen would have to take the unofficial position of being Lavi's mentor for his first mission. Ironically, Allen would have to teach him the whole 'assume everyone to be an Akuma' lesson, Lavi had originally taught him when he had failed to understand his Master. As much as he wished it, Allen knew he wouldn't always be around Lavi with his 'convenient eye'.

When they left, Allen and Lavi split off to their respective rooms to grab their own things and met back up minutes later down in the canals, where a Finder was waiting for them. Thankfully, the Finder already knew about Lavi taking Allen's position as the new rookie, so he directed his own explanations to Allen, recalling everything his comrades had told him when they had communicated back to Headquarters. Allen nodded in appreciation, though the information was nothing new to them.

Soon enough, they were racing through the city, unsurprisingly trying to catch up with the train that had already left the train station minutes ago. Lavi easily kept up with them, jumping across buildings as if he did it all the time, but that came to a stop when they landed on the bridge, the train racing underneath, as if realizing what they were about to do.

"Listen shortstack, I don't think I—" Lavi cut himself short with a loud scream, as Allen continued on without listening to him and pulled him along, down to the train, knowing that if they had hesitated any longer, they would have missed it. Plus, he kind of deserved it after refusing to call him by his given name. The Finder, having landed closer to the unopened hatch, led them inside, with Allen dragging along a dazed Lavi. After landing inside and being led to their private compartment by a flustered attendant, Lavi suddenly straightened up and pulled Allen roughly up by his Exorcist coat. Giving him a crazed glare, Lavi growled, "Don't ever do that again! Got that shortstack?!"

Allen gave him a quick, nervous nod, and Lavi dropped him carelessly, collapsing onto the red cushioned seat soon afterwards. Allen didn't bother him again for the rest of the night.

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of March 2****nd****, 1895**

* * *

It had been about a two days since they had left Headquarters, and they were finally on their third and last train. Unfortunately, they would have to hike up for a couple miles through the forest to reach the village itself, but they tried not to dwell on that. Ever since Lavi had woken up on the first train, Allen had drilled him on every possible piece of advice he could think up. Despite Lavi's easygoing manner, he took all of it seriously, at least to a degree. Truthfully, it was more than Allen could have hoped for. Currently, they were stretching their muscles out by walking around the train.

As they strolled leisurely, Allen again peeked up at Lavi. Despite his efforts, he hadn't yet identified what it was about Lavi that had him so on edge. Lavi then peered down at him from his towering height, leaning down towards Allen's height, his single, forest green eye staring straight into Allen's moonlit ones. "Alright, what is it with you shortstack? Ever since I met you, you keep giving me these suspicious glances. I'm not sure what I did to garner such treatment, but I hope there are no hard feelings," Lavi grinned pleasantly.

But Allen had stopped listening. Stumbling back away from Lavi, Allen finally realized what had him so uneasy when he looked straight into Lavi's single eye. The Lavi he had known had been very open, his eye always filled with an emotion one way or another. But this Lavi… Despite having the right facial expressions, Lavi's eye was almost as blank as that day on the Ark. His words and actions had distracted from it, but now that Allen was truly looking at him, it was so obvious.

"—shortstack! Hey, what's the matter?" Allen suddenly realized that Lavi was holding him up by the shoulders to keep him from falling back, while calling out to him.

Swiftly shaking his hands away, Allen stepped back with a sick feeling in his gut, and muttered barely loud enough for Lavi to hear, "Your eye. It's dead. Like there are no true emotions within you, despite your happy-go-lucky act."

Suddenly, before Lavi could respond to Allen's accusations, a young girl came up to them with a sweet smile, offering them flowers. Of course, Allen had seen her coming a mile away, but he had been planning for this to serve as a lesson to Lavi, especially considering he didn't yet know what exactly his left eye was useful for and didn't want him to become dependent on it throughout the mission. As Allen offered her a slightly shaky smile and accepted a flower, his claw was suddenly ripping the girl apart, just before she could manage to shoot his head off. Looking up to see the shocked, and slightly frightened face of Lavi, Allen repeated the words that his Lavi had told him once, long ago with a suddenly exhausted sigh, "You should assume that everyone you come into contact with is an Akuma."

Allen then proceeded to drag a shaken Lavi back to their compartment, while silently brooding, and away from the shrieks of all the panicking passengers accusing him of murder. Unfortunately, it was a horrid scene he had long ago gotten used to.

* * *

**A/N: **Well, that wasn't a very happy ending to a chapter -_- Anyway, I'm really sorry to say that with school starting tomorrow for me, I'm going to update a lot slower:/ So sorry about that, but I hope you'll be patient enough to continue waiting for my updates.

And in answer to my two anonymous reviewers who tried giving me ideas on what else include in this story;

**lily**: That's actually a pretty neat idea! I hadn't given the Asian Branch much thought, but now that you mention it, I think including them at some point would be fun!(: It probably won't happen for another couple chapters, but I'll be sure to keep it in mind(;

**Ennael**: I hadn't thought much about the generals, what with them being busy and all, but unlike Cross, they'll be sure report back to the Order at some point, so including them in as well might be fun. Unfortunately, they're not going to be a permanent fix like you seem to want, since they do have jobs, but I'll be sure to include them later on in the story!^.^

I'm still willing to listen to ideas any of you might have, and be sure to leave a review on what you thought about the chapter please!(:


	4. Smile

**A/N: **Gee, I feel so giddy reading all your nice, and long reviews^,^ Thanks so much to **Lenore91**, **KoiKyuuiKitai**, **bougainvillea blossom**, **Black wolf White wolf77**, **EpikalStorms**, **Dana**, **Allyieh**, **Jazebeth**, **negimarules52**, **Fallen's child**, **Lucia Tsukiyomi-hime**, **Cindar**, and **Will of the Abyss - AllenxRoad** for reviewing!(; And thank you to all those who have also put this story on their favotites and alerts! As well as putting me on your favorites and alerts! You're too nice^,^

By the way, you're all lucky I'm actually updating this, even if it is a little late. I've been horridly sick these past few days, and am currently nursing a splitting headache, so you all better enjoy this chapter!;D Though I am sorry for any mistakes. I was not well, while editing this chapter x/

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**Disclaimer****: **I don't own, or will ever own, **D. Gray-Man**. I just like to borrow it to fill the void from its lack of updates. )x

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Chapter 4

* * *

**Time Frame — Afternoon of March 2****nd****, 1895**

* * *

—**3rd Person POV—**

**~Allen~**

The rest of the train ride continued on in a slightly awkward silence while each individual contemplated what they'd just discovered. Allen felt completely drained as he hadn't thought that the change in Lavi would have been that drastic. Lavi's years at the Order must have _really_ affected him to the point that the Bookman part of himself had probably been buried back into the deep corners of his mind, while Lavi had overtaken by the time Allen had met him. It was such a depressing thought, Allen wasn't sure what to do. Wouldn't letting Lavi continue the way he had last time, hurt him more? But Allen wasn't sure he could keep his distance. After all, he and Lavi had been best friends once upon a time.

Before either could think deeper on what they'd learned, the Finder accompanying them informed them of their arrival. Grabbing their belongings, they headed for the outskirts of the small town and began the long hike that awaited them in the deep tangles of the forest. Allen, much to his relief, noticed that Lavi seemed a lot more alert then before, and maybe even slightly paranoid. He didn't really consider that a bad thing. After all, just because you were paranoid, didn't mean they weren't out to get you.

Eventually, after a small period of strenuous silence, Lavi reverted back to his cheerful self, asking questions left and right about the Order. Allen ignored the occasional teasing, and shortly answered each question thrown his way with the Finder adding in his own two cents at times. Despite Lavi bouncing back to his lively persona, Allen felt uncomfortable with him, knowing this wasn't _his_ Lavi. How long it would be until then, Allen wasn't sure, but he knew he'd welcome him back with open arms.

"Finally! We have found civilization!" Lavi exclaimed with a laugh when they broke through the trees and saw the small village in the distance, though it seemed slightly forced with his ragged and dirty look. Five hours of speed hiking through the forest had not done either of them any good, as they were covered in dirt and the occasional scratch, though the Finder seemed impossibly untouched. Though unfair in their eyes, Allen knew he was probably used to this kind of thing, as all Finders were.

Thankfully, it wasn't long before they entered the town and made their way to the only available inn. After having a quick meal and freshening up, Allen and Lavi—accompanied by the Finder—split up to see if there was any more information they could gather from the locals. Night was swiftly approaching, and a trip to the lake itself would have been useless. Lavi and Allen had decided to meet back up in their room in at least an hour.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" Allen called out politely to an older woman closing down a shop, with a friendly smile. Allen knew being friendly would probably be the best way to gather information from the locals, as well as honesty considered they were probably a bit paranoid from the strange phenomenon that seemed to take place in the lake.

"Oh, I'm sorry hon. You'll have to come back tomorrow," the woman called out apologetically.

"It's not that. I was just wondering if I could have a word with you. You seem like a nice and honest person." Flattery could work wonders as well, especially when accompanied by a cute smile from a child.

"Oh, well, I don't know about that…" Trailing off with a slight blush, the woman shook it off, and stepping down from her shop, she suddenly began to usher Allen into the back room of the shop. "Well, if you were looking to talk, then I might as well offer you a cup of tea. And where are my manners? My name's Randy Olson," she rambled, as she pushed Allen onto one of the seats and busied herself in the small kitchenette.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Ms. Olson. My name's Allen Walker," Allen introduced himself, his grin a little wider. He'd definitely hit the jackpot. By the way she chattered and was easily flattered, Allen could tell that she was a first class gossip.

Setting the slightly chipped cups on the table and pouring the tea in, Randy finally sat herself across from him, while saying, "A newcomer I see. We don't get many visitors out here. But enough of that. What was it that you wanted to talk about, hon?"

"You see, my comrades and I were sent here by our employers to take care of something. It seems we need to figure out exactly what's going on with the lake that resides near this village. Unfortunately, we weren't given much information to go on, and I figured a pretty lady like yourself might know something," Allen explained, offering her an adorable, toothy grin.

Randy suddenly gave him an appraising look. "Aren't you a little young to be involved in this sort of thing. Children shouldn't be involved in such dangerous affairs."

Allen knew no amount of flattery or begging would be able to get the woman to spill unless he could reassure her that he would be in no danger. Slightly fidgeting, Allen gave her a timid smile and replied, "I know. I'm just here to learn, but I thought I'd help out by trying to gather information." At this, Allen gave her a wide-eyed, pleading gaze.

Randy calmed down at this, and offering him a kind smile, she began, "Well, if that's all. Truthfully, we don't know much ourselves. The regular fishermen that go would go out there every day, spoke of a strange blob lurking down there. It seemed to be very spread out, as it kept wavering in one large spot, but the waters were too murky to be able to tell. They did say that it was a mix of the darkest black and purest white, which is why they were able to spot it so easily. Sadly, whatever it was, has been scaring the fish away, and the depletion of food has been hard on us, as the nearest food source is the village hours away, and the game here isn't the best. Some say that it's been haunted, but I don't know much about that nonsense. Anyway, after the death of those two newcomers, no one has dared to go near the lake, so I'm sorry to say that I don't know much other than that."

Allen nodded in understanding, and was soon leaving her shop, with a quick "Good night and be safe!" thrown his way. Afterwards, Allen wasn't able to get much more than that from the other villagers. Unlike Randy, they seemed to be a lot more paranoid and suspicious, and even his sweet smile wasn't able to get more than warnings to stay away from the now deemed 'cursed lake'. Knowing it would be useless to continue, Allen decided to head back into the inn once he spotted it. Seeing Lavi causally lounging at one of the tables of the mini diner situated in the first floor of the inn, Allen headed his way.

They barely exchanged words of greeting, the atmosphere between them a little tense and silent. "Is there anything I can get you?" A small, eight-year-old, brown-haired girl asked them timidly with a slightly blank expression on her face. Allen identified her as the innkeeper's daughter, though her expression was slightly disturbing. Allen discreetly searched her with his left eye, but found nothing else weird about her. Lavi and Allen placed their orders, and she didn't so much as blink at Allen's large list of food, despite Lavi still staring at him in shock. Then again, he'd never actually heard him order before.

Allen watched her walk away with a small frown and slightly jumped in surprise when Lavi began to suddenly speak, watching her slow retreat as well. "Her name is Sophie. I suspected her of being an Akuma when I first met her and her family, but now I'm not so sure…"

"What makes you say that?" Allen looked back at Lavi's thoughtful face. It was true that Sophie was strange, but knowing how intelligent Lavi was, there was probably another reason for his suspicions on her being an Akuma.

"After you were done eating and you left, her mother came over to apologize for her behavior. Apparently, a little over a month ago, around the same time the phenomenon began, her best friend drowned in the same lake we're investigating. After I managed to get some off the villagers to talk, they spoke of the lake being cursed and all sorts of superstitious nonsense. So the only thing I managed to find out was that most of them believe it to be this 'Kaylee girl' to be the one causing all the havoc."

Nodding, Allen replied, "Yeah, the woman I spoke to said something similar. I also managed to get a description from her. She described it as 'a mix of the darkest black and purest white'. She also said that it was very large and kept wavering in one spot, so that might mean that it's not a solid form. We'll have to check it out first thing in the morning," Allen decided.

"You don't think it's a water-type Level 2?" Lavi asked a bit nervously, discreetly glancing at Sophie who was managing the counter while her mother was busy in the kitchen. A moment later, Sophie began carrying numerous plates to their table, which Allen began to enthusiastically dig into.

"It could be a possibility…" Allen replied thoughtfully after swallowing a bite, thinking back to when he'd dealt with something similar with the Akuma in the shape of a large ship. Shaking his head he continued, "But that wouldn't make sense considering the only deaths accounted for were those two Finders. No matter how smart, Akuma aren't that patient. It would have slaughtered everyone here by now somehow. And no Lavi, Sophie is _not_ an Akuma. I can at least tell you that much."

"How can you be so sure?" Lavi sighed poking at his food, suddenly looking tired. For once, he didn't seem to be faking, and Allen was saddened by the fact that the first emotion shown in his single eye was the utter exhaustion of fearing for his life that came with the job of being an Exorcist. Maybe it had been a mistake to leave him on his own. Especially with the suspicion of a disguised Akuma being nearby. Heck, Allen wasn't even sure Lavi knew how to use his Iron Hammer.

Sighing, Allen knew it would be best for him to tell the truth. "Most Exorcists have to be on the constant look out. Suspicious of anyone who comes up to them. That's why we wear the Rose Cross; all Akuma recognize it for what it is, and won't hesitate to try and fool you into believing that they're harmless before they give you the killing blow. You always have to have your weapon at ready."

"You've already told me all this, but what makes you the exception?" Lavi frowned.

"When I was twelve my father was killed by an out-of-control carriage. I mourned by his grave for days, and then a man came to me. He offered to bring him back. Said I would get to be with Mana again," Allen begin with a shaky breath. Lavi's eye widened and he leaned forward in curiosity and a trace of horror in his forest green eye. "I accepted. I called for his soul and turned Mana into an Akuma. He hated me for it, and so he cursed me to forever see the agonized souls of the Akuma. I can recognize the Akuma by seeing the writhing souls of the person called back, chained to their disguised forms."

"But I was told it was impossible to turn a loved one into an Akuma without being killed," Lavi said with a horrified expression, which actually seemed genuine.

Allen shook his head and explained grimly, "That's just the last part of the process. Being killed and used by your loved one. My Innocence reacted to the Dark Matter and tore Mana apart."

"That's… sick," Lavi replied with a disgusted face. Unfortunately, whatever little progress Allen had made seem to evaporate as Lavi shook the feelings off and his eye blanked away once again and turned slightly calculating, processing all the information he'd been given.

Allen sighed and spoke up again with a small yawn, "We should probably go get some sleep. We need to keep up our strength for tomorrow."

Lavi nodded and pushing his barely touched plate aside, began to follow Allen upstairs. Just as Allen reached the top, he paused as he heard Lavi call out in a surprisingly small voice, "Allen?"

"Yes, Lavi?"

"Your eye will wake you if the Akuma attack, right?"

"Yes, of course, but remember… I might not always be around."

"I understand."

* * *

**Time Frame — Midnight of March 3****rd****, 1895**

* * *

Allen blearily blinked his eyes open, coming to face with the open window displaying the twinkling, midnight sky. Allen frowned in muddled confusion; that wasn't right. If it wasn't daylight that had alerted him awake, than what had? The answer soon came in the sound of creaking stairs. Someone was either trying to sneak out or break in, but his cursed eye could detect no Akuma in the vicinity. Glancing over to the nearby bed, Allen assessed that Lavi wasn't the culprit as he was snoring and dreaming away, though he did seem a little tense.

Peering out the window once again, Allen was slightly surprised to see the vague shape of Sophie closing the front door behind her while her eyes darted nervously around the surrounding area—it was unlikely she could actually see anything in the pitch darkness, unlike Allen who was trained for it—before pushing the hood of her cloak over her head and scurrying in the direction of the forest. The same direction in which the lake lied.

"Lavi! Up! Now!" Allen slapped Lavi a couple of times, before quickly pulling on his boots and throwing his coat on in a flurry of black and silver fabric with quick succession.

"Ugh… Wha' issit?" Lavi slurred, still half asleep, as he attempted to rub the sleepiness away from his eye.

"Sophie isn't an Akuma. But she's definitely up to something," Allen frowned, tossing Lavi's discarded Exorcist coat and boots at him, not bothering to wait as he began heading for the door before he missed anything.

"Huh? Oh, wait up!" Lavi exclaimed, hopping on one foot each as he slipped on his boots, coat still tossed over his shoulder. As they silently hurried out the inn, Lavi finally managed to straighten his clothes up and look somewhat presentable, not that it would really matter considering where they were headed. Shaking his ever growing hair out of his eye, Lavi pulled out his plain, black bandanna and began pulling his hair up and away from his face. Slipping further into the forest, Allen briefly noticed Lavi nervously fingering his Iron Hammer strapped to his thigh.

Despite Cross' twisted ways, Allen was thankful for the little training Master had given him, even if it _had_ involved a noose, a kitchen knife, and a frilly, pink braw. In any case, it had enhanced his night vision, and Allen would gladly put that memory _far_ behind him, where it belonged, as he continued to silently sneak through the forest, only a couple feet behind Sophie. Fortunately, Lavi had his own experiences as a Bookman, so he didn't have trouble keeping up with Allen, despite his nervous twitching.

Allen unexpectedly came to an abrupt stop, nearly causing Lavi to ram into him before he caught himself. They both crouched down when the realized Sophie had superstitiously glanced around her in fear. After a couple seconds, Sophie calmed down and turned back to the thing she'd been staring at. The cursed lake.

Allen frowned in confusion as they watched Sophie completely relax and sit back on the shore, simply watching the lapping water with a tranquil gaze and a small, expectant smile—a complete contrast from her apathetic attitude earlier before. This continued on for another fifteen minutes, but Allen knew better than to be impatient. It soon proved to pay off, as Allen and Lavi watched in awe as the dark waters of the lake began to light up with the familiar, eerie green glow that usually came to be associated with Innocence. Allen was so focused on the glowing, murky waters, that he didn't notice the rising figure in the middle of the lake.

"Pss! Look!" Lavi whispered urgently, jabbing him in the ribs with his elbow and then nodding towards the form pulling itself out, near the shores of lake. Allen did a double take as he finally recognized what it was that was making its way over to the beaming Sophie. It was a girl! She looked to be the same age as Sophie, with thick, dark hair plastered and dripping against her, down to her knees and a long, white and soaked nightgown encasing her small figure. Her skin was a pallid white with a tinge of gray that reminded Allen of corpse and her dark eyes seemed to be devoid of life, in contrast to the crazed grin that played on her lips as she walked closer to the shore, twitching and spazzing as she went. But the most important feature that drew the Exorcists' eyes was the long chain hanging around her neck, an Innocence fragment suspended at its end.

Realizing how close she was getting to Sophie, Allen instinctively stepped forward in order to protect her from her former friend. At that instant, the deceased girl snapped her head around, towards him with a loud crack, though Sophie thankfully didn't take note, as she was still giving her old friend a hopeful gaze. The crazed girl's eyes were wide as saucers as she stared directly at Allen, her grin growing wider, and if possible, slightly crazier. Before Allen could take any sort of action against her, she suddenly threw herself back into the water with a loud splash, flailed for a bit, and then completely vanished, taking the vibrant shine of the Innocence along with her.

"No! Kaylee! Please come back!" Sophie called out desperately, suddenly shaking in sobs of despair. Momentarily forgetting about the Innocence, Allen rushed towards the young girl in an urge to comfort her, Lavi hurrying along with him.

"Come on, Lavi. Let's take her home," Allen suggested, giving the lake one last, worried glance, as they escorted the weeping girl home.

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of March 3****rd****, 1895**

* * *

"I swear, it was her!" Sophie insisted the next day, after she'd managed to get some sleep.

"I don't want to hear it, Sophia! The dead can't come back, and whatever is out there, I don't want you going near it!" Her mother scolded her with a chastising frown.

"But mother—" Sophie cried, but was cut off by her mother's hand slamming the table.

"Miss! Do you mind if we spoke with your daughter for a moment?" Allen cut in, attempting to calm her down.

Sophie's mother let out an exasperated sigh, and waved her hands as if to say 'go ahead', and walked into the kitchen.

"Alright, Sophie. Do you mind explaining to us exactly what's been going on with your… friend?" Allen questioned, hesitating on the last word.

Sophie gazed at her hands, resting on the wooden table for a moment with a nostalgic expression, and without looking up, began to explain, "About a month ago, my friend Kaylee and I went swimming to the lake after lights out. We weren't suppose to, but Kaylee thought it would be fun. Something caught her foot, and she never came back up." Sophie took in a shuddering breath, and squeezing her eyes shut, she continued on to say, "I-I… I thought I'd never see her again! But three weeks ago, she began calling my name in my dreams. I didn't think it was real, until I followed her voice back to the place she'd drowned. She was there! Not all of her, but each night, she came closer and closer. I thought she would finally escape tonight. She was so close!" Sophie swallowed down her oncoming tears, and finally looked up at them with a desperate gaze. "You see now!? I have to be there! I have to save her!"

"Sophie…" Allen hesitated. "Did you ever notice the rock chained to her neck?"

Sophie gave them a perplexed look, and then slowly responded, "I guess… But Kaylee's always had that with her, since I can remember."

"You don't think she was an Accommodator?" Lavi mused, glancing at Allen for an answer.

Allen thought about it, and then shook his head. "I don't think so." Then, turning towards Sophie, Allen began to explain in a solemn voice, "Sophie, that rock she carries with her is called Innocence. It's shown to do many things. I've seen it keep a doll alive for 500 years. I've seen it keep a man fighting a nonexistent battle for a 1000. I've even seen it change the seasons in a matter of seconds and keep a town stuck on the same day for months. Innocence is known to do many things Sophie, but the one thing it can't do is bring back a soul. I'm sorry Sophie, but that thing isn't Kaylee. It's just a puppet of the Innocence she carried, and whatever it wants with you, it's not good."

"B-but…" Sophie protested weakly, tears beginning to leak down her flushed cheeks.

"Promise me one thing Sophie. If a man comes offering to bring her soul back for you, refuse his offer. Nothing but tragedy will result from such a deal," Allen said, a hard look in his eyes.

Sophie stared into his rock-like eyes for a moment, before taking a deep breath, and replying, "I… I promise." Slipping out of her seat, Sophie began to slowly head towards the kitchen, most likely to apologize to her mother.

"There's one thing I don't understand. If deep enough sorrow and grief hits a person, doesn't the Earl target them? Sophie seemed plenty mournful to me," Lavi mused, giving her retreating form a calculating gaze.

"It was hope. When Kaylee began speaking to her, it gave her hope, and that's not something the Earl is looking for," Allen explained to the ever curious Bookman. Before Lavi could bombard him with anymore of his never-ending questions, Allen's eye whirred to life in circles of red and black, causing Lavi to gasp and lean back in surprise from where he was sitting. "Akuma," was Allen's one-word explanation as he began to hurriedly lead him outside and towards the outskirts of the town, where he sensed them nearing the lake.

"Do you know how many?" Lavi asked.

"It's a horde of Level 1's. Around maybe twenty or thirty," Allen explained, slightly worried. Did Lavi even know how to use Iron Hammer?

Seeing the questioning look in his eyes, Lavi shook his head regretfully. "I have no idea how to use the darn thing. They said I would just know when the time came." It was obvious from Lavi's frustrated frown exactly what he thought about that piece of advice.

Reaching the flock of the nearing Akuma, Allen silently activated his Innocence, and recommended, "Remember; just tell it to grow." And then he leaped into the mass of the killing machines.

* * *

**~Lavi~**

Lavi didn't know what to make of the advice. Really? How was telling a hammer to grow, going to make a difference?

With a yelp, Lavi ducked into the surrounding forest, as bullets began to rain down from the multiple Akuma. Skidding under a log for safety, Lavi gasped for breath, and glaring down at the tiny hammer clenched in his hand, he growled, "Well, grow you stupid thing!"

That didn't do the trick.

Lavi began to sprint once again, when an Akuma blasted away the fallen log he'd been crouching under. Darting through the multitude of trees and just barely avoiding the poisonous bullets headed his way, Lavi desperately called to his Innocence once again, "Grow, damn it!"

Lavi clenched at the unheeding Innocence as he continued to run for his life. Dashing behind a tree, Lavi leaned against it as he panted and struggled to catch his breath, while his single eye darted around the surrounding area apprehensively. Unfortunately, he forgot to look up.

Realizing this, Lavi anxiously glanced up, and widened his eye when he realized the numerous canons from the single Akuma pointed his way.

"GROW!" Was the last thing Lavi managed to shout before the onslaught of ammunition was released upon him.

Clenching his eye shut, Lavi wondered why he wasn't dead yet. Finally looking up, he realized his Iron Hammer had actually _grown_, and was currently blocking the Akuma's assault. Hardening his grip on the handle, Lavi concentrated, and yelled once again, "GROW!" Now feeling a little safer behind the enlarged hammer, Lavi took a deep breath and did the next obvious thing. He attempted to smash the Akuma in. Thankfully, the force of his desperation was enough to destroy the Akuma to bits, as it exploded under the harsh pressure of his hammer.

Realizing that he'd done it, Lavi glanced around again, and being in the clear, leaned against his hammer tiredly.

"Lavi!" He suddenly heard the shortstack call out to him worriedly.

Looking upwards, Lavi realized that he was standing atop one of the many trees, and staring at him with an anxious expression. "I'm okay! Are there anymore of them?" Lavi called back.

Shaking his head, the shortstack replied loudly, "I don't think—" But he spoke too soon, as his eye suddenly came to life. It took Lavi a second to realize that the shortstack's horrified expression was now directed to something behind him.

"Hihihihhi~! Thank you, for allowing me to evolve, Exorcists~!" The Level 2 Akuma sang, and Lavi gulped when he felt something pressing against his back.

Lavi looked into the shortstack's appalled eyes, with a fearful expression, and before he knew what was happening, the shortstack was pulling an enormous broadsword out of nowhere, and was flinging it right at him. Not having the time to react, Lavi stared with beyond shocked eyes at the protruding handle in his abdomen. Lavi went slack-jawed for a moment, his eye twitched, and then he promptly passed out, completely missing the exploding Akuma at his back.

* * *

**~Allen~**

Allen winced with guilt, when he realized the horrified expression Lavi was directing towards him. Then gasped when he realized that the dazed red-head had passed out. Jumping down from the tree, Allen hurriedly dashed towards Lavi's unconscious figure, and after checking the vicinity for anymore Akuma and deactivating Crown Clown, Allen attempted to shake the Bookman Junior awake.

"Lavi! Come on Lavi! Stop being such a baby, and wake up!" Allen shook him desperately, hoping beyond hope that he hadn't caused any sort of psychological damage to the poor guy.

A couple of slaps later, Lavi groggily blinked his eye open, and realizing it was Allen who was sitting above his prone figure, he immediately sat up and scooted away from him until he backed himself up into a tree. "You… You… You tried to kill me!" Lavi finally managed to accuse with a pointed finger and a horror-struck face.

"Quit being so dramatic, Lavi," Allen replied calmly, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

"I'm _not_ being dramatic! You… You stabbed me! With a—wait, where's the sword?!" Lavi suddenly began to wildly look around the forest floor, expecting for the sword to be lying somewhere.

Allen cocked his head to the side, and wondered how the Bookman's latest persona would react to being messed with, instead of the other way around. "What sword?"

Staring at his dumb-struck expression, Lavi furiously shook his head, and exclaimed, "The sword you skewered my body with, damn it!"

"Lavi… Exactly where on your body does it look like you got stabbed?" Allen questioned him rationally, he smiling mask just a crack away from breaking and revealing the Black Allen smirk hidden beneath.

"I… I…" Lavi trailed off in confusion, patting himself down, and realizing that he bore no wounds, other than the occasional scrape and bruise he received from running around in the forest. "I know what I saw…" Lavi said stubbornly, though he didn't sound too sure of himself.

"_Right_…" Allen said unconvinced.

"Are you accusing me of hallucinating?" Lavi frowned.

"Hey, you're the one who said it, not me," Allen shrugged, giving him an innocent smile.

Before an argument could break out, they heard the slight sound of rushing water. "The lake!" Allen exclaimed, looking in the direction behind him. "We have to retrieve the Innocence!"

Grabbing his deactivated Innocence, Lavi immediately got up, and raced after Allen, both hurriedly jumping over fallen logs and branches, and scurrying around the many trees until they reached the lake.

Allen's eyes widened in shock when their arrival revealed the whirring pool at the center of the lake, in which Kaylee's body stood. Her body occasionally spazzed and twitched at the joints, and her head seemed to be cocked at an uncomfortable angle. Upon their appearance, she snapped her soulless eyes open, and slowly turned her head towards their direction. As if their presence offended her somehow, she gave them an inhuman snarl, and with a jerk of her fingers, began launching volleys of water at them.

Ducking and dodging, they managed to avoid most of them, but unfortunately ended up getting hit after being overwhelmed. Choking and spluttering, Allen managed to activate Crown Clown and was able to use the white cloak for protection. Lavi, using his now, enlarged hammer, was able to shield himself as well.

Allen ducked behind one of the trees for a bit, and waiting for the corpse to distract herself with Lavi, jumped in again, headed straight for the chain wildly flying around her neck. Unfortunately, she managed to see it coming, and blasted Allen back with a cascade of water, causing him to land harshly next Lavi, who was crouching down behind his hammer, while trying to keep it in place from all the oncoming water.

Coughing all the water back up, Allen gasped and struggled to catch his breath. "How're you holding up?" He asked Lavi.

"Could be better," Lavi grunted. "Any idea how to take it from her?"

Allen frowned in frustration. "She's standing in the middle of the lake. I need some sort of stable ground to be able to fight her out in the middle of the water. Too bad Lenalee isn't here…" Allen trailed off. Glancing at Lavi's hammer, Allen's eyes widened when he remember what other easy command Lavi could give Iron Hammer.

"Hey, Lavi? You know how you can get your Innocence to grow?" Allen asked rhetorically.

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure we already established that," Lavi replied in a strained voice, trying to keep his hammer from succumbing to the onslaught of water.

"You think you could get your handle to extend? If I can have something to land on, I'll be able to dodge her attacks without having to come back or land on the water," Allen explained, hoping Lavi would be strong enough to keep his Innocence activated for just a little longer. The first time using your Innocence was always the hardest, though Lavi seemed to be doing remarkably well.

"I-I'll try!" Lavi gasped, and commanded, "Extend!" Fortunately, the hammer stayed in place, protecting them from the torrents of water, and the handle twisted around to extend towards and across the lake, creating a perfect pathway for Allen. "J-just hurry!" Lavi panted, sweat visible on his face.

Nodding in determination, Allen quickly raced across the handle, Crown Clown at ready. Kaylee's corpse took immediate notice of him, and with a growl, launched surges of water streaming towards him, which he was able to just dodge, landing on the handle every time.

Once he was near enough, Allen ordered Crown Clown, "Clown Belt!" Kaylee's body gasped in outrage when she suddenly became immobile, every part of her corpse being contained by the white strands of Allen's Crown Clown. Before she could direct anymore water-type attacks towards them, Allen used his sleek claws to snap the chain from her neck, and then released her. Kaylee gasped when her body suddenly began to die once again. "T-thank you," she choked out just before the waters of the lake claimed her body once more, and enfolded her into the depths of its dark waters, soon vanishing her body from view.

"You're welcome," Allen whispered solemnly, just as Iron Hammer's handle began to pull him towards shore, where Lavi was panting from the exertion of using his Innocence for so long.

Landing on the ground, and deactivating his Crown Clown, Allen patted Lavi on the back and said, "Good job, Lavi! You did great!"

"Thanks!" Lavi gasped, returning an equally tired smile.

"Oh, and Lavi?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry for stabbing you with my sword."

…

"I knew it!"

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of March 3****rd****, 1895**

* * *

Allen rubbed his eyes tiredly, while he contentedly stared out the window from the train; not that there was much to see out in the pitch blackness. Glancing up at Lavi, who was immersed in one of his many books, Allen curiously asked, "What did you think of your first mission."

Looking up, Lavi closed his book and set it aside. "It sure was something. Not every day you get stabbed by your supposed comrade," Lavi teased.

Letting out an insufferable sigh, Allen asked rhetorically, "You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Not on your life!" Lavi cheerfully replied, and Allen was pleased to see that he actually seemed to be somewhat genuine. Maybe not as much as his original Lavi, but he knew it was a work in progress.

"I am curious about one thing though," Lavi began.

"And about a million others," Allen scoffed, but they both knew he was just teasing.

"Well, it does come with the job of a Bookman. In all seriousness, how did you know to command my hammer to grow?" Lavi asked.

Allen shrugged, and simply replied with his usual poker face, "Just a shot in the dark. I doubted such a tiny thing could cause any damage, so making it bigger seemed like a simple solution."

Lavi nodded and sat back, not asking more, though Allen knew he was probably still suspicious. Lavi was observant, and Allen wasn't sure how long his secret would last with him around.

"Oh, I almost forgot! I got something for you!" Allen exclaimed suddenly, digging around the inside pockets of his Exorcist coat.

Leaning forward in curiosity, Lavi eagerly asked, "What is it?"

"Well, I thought that bandana of yours was a little bland," Allen began with a teasing smirk.

"Hey, I happen to be very of fond of this bandana!" Lavi defended, though his lips slightly twitched upwards.

"So, I got you a new one!" Allen exclaimed, finally pulling out the bright, green bandana victoriously, and then tossed it to a surprised Bookman Junior.

"Thanks shorstack!" Lavi replied, replacing his old bandana with the new one, and as if by miracle, offered Allen his first genuine smile.

Beaming in return, Allen replied, "You're welcome."

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of March 5****th****, 1895**

* * *

Allen groaned in frustration when he realized he was utterly and completely lost. But of course, that was to be expected. They'd just gotten back from the mission, and Lavi was away with Komui, giving Hevlaska the new Innocence fragment.

He'd been doing okay at first, the root between the cafeteria, his room, and Komui's office having been ingrained in his mind. And no, taking twice as long to get there as everyone else did_ not_ count as getting lost. That thought aside, Allen knew he should have paid more attention to his surroundings, but he'd been so deep in thought that he must have taken the wrong turn. And wait… had that been a staircase back there? But all three places he frequented were all on the same floor! Ugh, it was a good thing he kept his training in his own room, instead of frequenting the training rooms on the other floors. God help him if he did.

Allen sighed dejectedly as he took another turn, knowing that attempting to find that one staircase would probably only lead him further into the depths of the Order. That was if he wasn't there already. Allen was so busy sulking that he didn't notice the person headed in his direction, causing Allen to harshly bump into them. Shaking it off, Allen craned his neck to look at an irate Kanda. Wait! That meant Kanda was probably headed back to his own room. It was pretty late after all, and Allen had never once seen Kanda get lost in the original timeline. Allen would never admit that he'd slightly resented the older Japanese because of it.

Giving him an innocent smile, Allen proceeded to give him a cheerful greeting and began to blather on about random things that he knew Kanda would tune out. Hopefully that would distract Kanda from the fact that he was following him… unless he didn't end up trying to commit murder over the fact he just wouldn't shut up, but Allen was getting desperate. "—and then Reever and all the other scientists started yelling all crazy. I was pretty scared, but—" Allen came to an abrupt stop when he realized Kanda had halted in his speedy walk and was staring at him with an unreadable expression. Oops!

"Uh, Kanda? You alright?" Allen laughed nervously.

"Beansprout… are you _following_ me?"

"I, uh… Well, you see… Um, I kind of have this tendency to, um, get lost," Allen finally managed to blurt out, as he shifted from foot to foot, acting like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar. Allen then suddenly began to better observe his surroundings now that he wasn't blabbering on, and realized that they weren't anywhere near the dormitories. "Um, Kanda? Please don't tell me you're lost as well…?"

"The hell I am!" Kanda protested vehemently, giving him a scathing glare. Allen blinked in surprise, and then burst into light laughter when he realized that Kanda had actually been in his position at one point.

"Why the fuck are you laughing?" Kanda growled dangerously, his hand instinctively reaching for Mugen. But Allen wasn't listening, as he leaned against a nearby door. The door appeared to be ancient with rusting hinges, most of the paint and even some of the wood itself chipped off and peeling, and mysterious splashes of weird chemicals littering the rough surface. Apparently the door could no longer take any weight, so the extra push of Allen's leaning form finally pushed it over the edge, and within a matter of seconds it was groaning in protest as it finally toppled backwards, taking Allen with it. "Agh!" Allen yelled in surprise as he suddenly tumbled back into a large cloud of dust.

Peering inside, Kanda raised an uninterested eyebrow, and dryly commented, "Maybe all that food is finally turning you into a fatass…"

"Is not!" Allen protested rather loudly, but then began to cough roughly when he accidently inhaled a good amount of the dust-filled air. Pounding his chest, Allen blindly grabbed for a random shelf to help him stand up, but unfortunately, just like the door, all the shelves were barely being held by a thread so it wasn't a surprise when Allen caused it to break off and crash right on top of him. Specifically, a mysterious, liquid-filled glass vial that had been rotting away just on top of it. An odd, violet-colored smoke practically exploded inside the tiny area right around Allen, filling every space and making it inescapable.

_Komui, I'm going to __**kill**__ you… _Was Allen's last coherent thought as everything began to blur around him.

* * *

**~Kanda~**

Kanda stumbled back, covering his mouth and nose to prevent himself from being affected by the smoke being released. Cursing, Kanda begin to wave it way and was finally able to clear away the small storage room from the lingering tendrils of the dissipating smoke. It was then that Kanda got a good look at the white-haired beansprout shrouded in his now too large Exorcist coat. Carefully picking the _thing_ up, Kanda observed it like you would a newly discovered creature, trying to figure out if he really was looking at what he thought he was. In response, the idiot beansprout bit his nose.

"Argh! You fucking retard! What the hell was that beansprout!?" Kanda snarled, accidently releasing his hold on him. Instead of toppling to the ground, the beansprout immediately wrapped his tiny arms around his neck and had the decency to snuggle into him. _Snuggle! _That word shouldn't even _be_ in his vocabulary list!

Kanda then realized that not only was he absolutely lost, he had an idiot, and now three-year old, beansprout clinging to him.

Fuck his life.

* * *

**A/N: **What the heck did I just write…? O_o

By the way, you can all thank **Lenore91** for poor Lavi getting stabbed. Apparently she wanted _somebody_ getting skewered by the Sword of Exorcism. xD

**Dana**: Thank you very much, and I'm glad you appreciated the thing with Lavi(; As for that, like I said before, I don't plan on adding romance into the story, but Road will pop in at the most random times, so keep your eye out for that!(;

That last part was for **EpikalStorms**. Yup, this is what I was talking about Stormy, so now I'm going to go hide so that you don't accidentally strangle me for not telling you^,^

Oh, and don't forget to leave a review please!;D


	5. Kidnapped

**A/N: **Wow, a lot of you sure were happy about Lavi getting stabbed… xD Haha, but in all seriousness, thank you very much to **negimarules52**, **NirvanaFrk97**, **Lahel**, **KoiKyuuiKitai**, **lovergirl85**, **myangelicladyofdarkness**, **Lenore91**, **Lucia** **Tsukiyomi-hime**, **bougainvillea** **blossom**, **Jazebeth**, **Dana**, **EpikalStorms**, **Will of the Abyss - AllenxRoad**, **Ennael**, **Glaux** **Bryonia**, **SotS**, **Firehedgehog**, **Snipperita**, **NekoGurl98**, **The Happy Jester**, **Kingocats**, **3789976**, and **Katey Burke** for all taking the time to review the last chapter! ^,^ That was the largest response I've gotten in one go! (; Then again, I did have that small, two month hiatus. Really sorry about that by the way, but school has been keeping me really busy, and I'm already behind enough as it is, so I didn't have much time for writing. :/

Anyone not like Allen's little incident with the de-aging potion? Well, if you didn't, you're probably not going to enjoy this chapter very much! ^,^

* * *

**Disclaimer****: **I sure wouldn't be on this site if I owned **D. Gray-Man**. :p

* * *

Chapter 5

* * *

**Time Frame — Morning of March 6****th****, 1895**

* * *

—**3rd Person POV—**

Kanda was not a happy Exorcist. Or at least, he was even more unhappy then usual at the current moment. Never had he imagined that he'd be saddled with an annoying brat to take care of. And it had to be the beansprout of all people! Well, he wouldn't handle the damn brat for another second.

As for Allen; he was having the time of his life.

"Would you quit doing that, damn it!" Kanda growled, as Allen continued to tug at his hair from where he was sitting on Kanda's shoulder. Allen just scowled in response, and yelled back in his childish voice, "Mean Bakanda!"

Kanda almost stopped in his tracks, having never heard such an insult in his life before. How had a three-year-old even come up with that in the first place? Beyond aggravated because of both lack of sleep and the obnoxious brat on his shoulders, Kanda finally snatched Allen from where he'd managed to climb up and dropped him on the ground without a care. "I fucking quit." With that, Kanda begin to stalk away in anger.

That is, until a quivering voice stammered out, "K-Kanda?"

_Don't look back. Don't look back. _Kanda chanted in his head, but his betraying eyes glanced back to see large, moonlit eyes filled with tears and staring at him pleadingly. Cursing profusely under his breath over 'damn brats who couldn't keep their tears to themselves', Kanda stalked back and snatching Allen up like you would a piece of luggage, continued on his way.

It was around daybreak that they finally managed to stumble to the entrance leading to the dining hall. Not very discreetly, Kanda slammed the doors wide open and marched inside in an angry stride, not bothering to spare any of the gaping Finders or scientists having breakfast a glance. Fortunately, Allen was practically drowning in his own Exorcist coat, so being held at Kanda's side, he mostly blended in and therefore went unnoticed. Not that Kanda actually cared for secrecy as he made a beeline for a table further in the corner, where three familiar Exorcists currently off duty were enjoying their breakfast. They were the only ones who had actually ignored his entrance, used to his temperamental fits. At least two of them had. The third, and newest, read head, was staring curiously at him.

"Is there a problem?" Lavi asked with a friendly smile, once Kanda had finally reached their table, eyes narrowed in anger. Kanda sneered at the obvious newbie, but before he could make a scathing remark, Lenalee interrupted. "What's wrong, Kanda?"

Getting back to the matter at hand, Kanda replied with an irritated voice, "_This_ is what's wrong?" And with that, dumped Allen in the middle of the table, though the oversized coat prevented them from getting a good look at the de-aged boy.

"Umm, so you're here to tell us about how you stole Allen's coat?" Daisya snickered.

Before an argument could break out between them, a head full of thick, snowy locks popped out from underneath the coat.

Exclamations of:

"Allen?!"

"Shortstack?!" and

"Twerp?!" were heard at the table.

"Kanda, what did you do?!" Lenalee finally turned to him with an accusing tone of voice.

"I didn't do a fucking thing!" Kanda argued, angered at being the one at fault.

They were interrupted by Allen's giggling form who was pointing at Lavi, while calling out, "Wabbit! Wabbit!"

"Hey! I'm not a rabbit! Don't you remember me, buddy?" Lavi pouted at his new nickname, not having expected Allen of all people to give him one. Allen shook his head stubbornly and responded with an affirmative nod, "Wabbit!"

"What about me, Allen? Don't you remember me?" Lenalee asked anxiously.

Allen turned to look at her curiously, before nodding excitedly, and replying, "Lena!"

Lenalee let out an obvious sigh of relieve, which Daisya took advantage of by directing Allen's attention to himself. "Hey twerp! Remember who I am?"

Allen gazed at him with curious silver eyes, before nodding. "Da-Dai-Da…" Allen struggled to say his name correctly.

"Come on, repeat after me; Dai-sya," Daisya attempted to help him out. Allen furrowed his eyebrows and scrunched his nose up in concentration, as he unsuccessfully attempted to say Daisya's name a few more times. Suddenly, Allen's expression brightened up, and pointing excitedly at Daisya, he exclaimed, "Daisy!"

Everyone stared at him for a moment in surprise before Daisya comically fell out of his chair in shock, and the rest snickered at the newly given name. Even Kanda's lips twitched slightly upwards. Getting back up, Daisya argued vehemently, "No you damn twerp! It's Dai_sya_!"

"Daisy! Daisy!" Allen giggled some more, practicing his version of Daisya's name.

Shaking her head, Lenalee tried to hide her mirth, and turned seriously to Kanda. "Tell us what happened!"

"Dumbass stumbled into one of your idiot brother's storage rooms." It was all Kanda had to say before they all understood. Even Lavi, being new, had heard about Komui's infamous experiments gone wrong, though this was the first time witnessing it himself.

"Oh Brother…" Lenalee trailed off, shaking her head, but not surprised in the slightest.

"So what are we suppose to do with him?" Daisya asked, as he experimentally poked a giggling Allen.

Slapping his hand away, Lenalee scolded him, "Stop that! And what can we do but take him to my brother? It's his fault for creating such a thing in the first place. Honestly, what could possibly go on in that head of his?" Lenalee made sure to wrap Allen well enough in his Exorcist coat, as the rest of his clothes appeared to be gone. Turning to Kanda, she asked, "What happened to his other clothes?"'

"They were falling off him, so I just dumped them in his room when we passed by," Kanda replied in an annoyed tone.

"Alright. We'll worry about that later," Lenalee decided, picking the bundled up Allen in her arms and discreetly slipped out of the cafeteria, and was soon followed by the rest of her comrades.

Soon enough, they were entering Komui's darkened office, trying to wade through the mountains of paperwork that littered his office. One of them took the liberty of turning the lights on and they then stared blankly at the slumped over form of Komui.

"Err, how do we wake him up?" Lavi wondered, having heard the infamous stories of Komui's "naps".

"Oh, I totally got this!" Daisya smirked, as he confidently strode over to Komui's sleeping figure. They stared a bit curiously as they watched the older teen lean over and quietly whisper into his ear. And then…

"HOW COULD YOU LENALEEEEEEEE!?" The next thing Lenalee knew, Komui had flown over his desk and kneeled at her feet, wrapping his arms around her waist as he released a torrent of tears.

"HOW COULD YOU EVEN CONSIDER GETTING MARRIED WITHOUT TELLING YOUR OLDER BROTHER?! AM I EVEN GOING TO BE PART OF THE WEDDING PARTY?!" Komui ranted, as Lenalee's face flushed pink from embarrassment. Kanda and Lavi weren't sure how to react, though Daisya currently held a self-satisfied smirk. And of course, Komui then had to notice the wrapped up bundle being held in Lenalee's arms…

"AND YOU ALREADY HAD A BABY TOO?!" Komui yelled in horror. At this, Komui suddenly turned serious, as he stood up and whipped a large drill out of nowhere, asking with a dangerous gleam in his eyes, while staring at Kanda, Lavi, and Daisya, "So, tell me. Who_ is_ the specimen that dared touch my precious Lenalee?"

By now, Lenalee had lost her last shred of patience. Being careful with Allen, she swiftly activated her Dark Boots and let her brother know exactly what she thought of his actions… With a good kick to the head.

"Ow! My precious little sister, how could you hurt your big brother?" Komui cried dramatically, clutching the growing bump on his head.

"Quit being so dramatic, Brother. We have a problem," Lenalee stated seriously, deactivating her Innocence.

"What can your big brother do for you?" Komui suddenly perked up.

"It's not what you can do for me. It's what you can do for him," Lenalee said, holding a curious Allen up to Komui's astounded face.

"_Allen_?"

"Sis-Com?" Allen asked in his childish voice, cocking his head to the side.

"Err, what?" Komui glanced up over Lenalee's head to see Daisya and Lavi leaning against each other, attempting to hold back their laughter, though they weren't doing a very good job of it. Even Kanda was smirking.

"I think he means Sister-Complex," Daisya piped up, releasing a snicker.

"Really, now?" Komui asked rhetorically in a dry voice. "But this _is_ a problem. How did it occur?"

When Kanda realized that they were all staring at him expectantly, he scoffed and said, "Idiot beansprout stumbled into one of _your_ storage rooms."

"Tsk, tsk. What have I told you about going near those things?" Komui shook his head, much to their astonishment over how he implied it was their fault they existed in the first place.

"Unfortunately, it is too late now," Komui muttered, while he stared contemplatively at Allen, who was staring around the room in curiosity.

"You don't think this affected his memories?" Lenalee asked her brother in a worried tone.

"No, no. He clearly remembers all of us, which probably means he still has all his memories associated with us. The problem is that not only has he taken the body of a child, but he's also taken the mind-set of a child. Once he returns to normal, he'll remember his experiences the way a child would. With colors and sounds and emotions. It has sort of worked the same way, except in reverse. He recognizes our faces, so whatever emotions he associated with us before, is how he will react in our presence. And whatever he thought of us before, whether he wanted us to know or not, might slip out," Komui explained.

"So, he thought I was a rabbit…?" Lavi mused with a perplexed tone.

Lenalee giggled and said, "It might not be that. He could have simply linked your bouncy personality with that of a rabbit."

"Looks like a rabbit to me," Kanda commented dryly.

"Aww, that's not very nice Yuu-chan~!" Lavi scolded, while wagging his finger, though the smirk on his face ruined the effect.

Suddenly, the room became deadly quiet, though Lavi took no notice.

"What. Did. You. Say?" Kanda slowly stressed out, carefully gripping Mugen's handle.

"That you're not very nice!" Lavi partially repeated, purposely acting oblivious. He suddenly gulped nervously when he felt the ice cold tip of Mugen being held at his neck.

"And what was it you called me?" Kanda asked in a low voice, glaring at Lavi with dangerous, dark eyes.

"Err, Yuu-chan?" Lavi squeaked. That was all it took for Kanda to lose it. Lavi yelped as he suddenly began to duck and dodge the oncoming swift motions of Kanda's blade.

Fortunately for Lavi, a small voice spoke up, "Kanda?"

Everyone stopped to look at Allen, still in Lenalee's arms, staring at Kanda and Lavi's frozen forms with an unrecognizable gaze. Hearing what he had said, Lenalee walked over to where Kanda was.

Taking in the scene, Allen finally turned to Kanda, and much to their shock, slapped his small, chubby hand onto his face. "Mean BaKanda!" Allen scolded.

Behind them, Daisya finally erupted into laughter. "Oh, that's rich!"

"Why you fucking beansprout…" Kanda growled, eyes narrowed at him.

Of course, the only reaction this elicited was a giggling Allen.

"We really do need to get you some clothes," Lenalee mused, figuring she didn't need to scold her two bickering friends now that Allen had done it for her.

"Oh, I have a solution for that!" Komui suddenly exclaimed, glad to finally be of some use. Before he could be asked what it was, he skipped out of the room, while calling out, "Oh, Johnny~!"

* * *

**Time Frame — Noon of March 6****th****, 1895**

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Johnny eagerly asked, as he presented a newly clothed Allen. After having the situation explained to him, Johnny had immediately agreed to make a quick outfit for Allen, though even that had taken up most of the morning. Nonetheless, he'd managed to create a pair of trousers, a sweater, gloves, and a tiny pair of boots for little Allen.

"He's adorable!" Lenalee squealed. Of course, she was the only one exited. Kanda, Daisya, and Lavi didn't seem to find the clothes all that interesting.

"So, what exactly are we suppose to do with a three-year-old?" Lavi scratched the back of his head. Bookmen learned many things, but dealing with children was not one of them.

Komui sighed, and spoke up, "I have to work on the antidote and we can't really have a child his age running around the Order. He'd cause complete and total havoc!"

"Like you don't do that on a daily basis…" Daisya said dryly, while the rest sweatdropped.

"_Anyway_," Komui ignored him and continued, "It'd be best if he burned his energy off somewhere else. Which one of you would like to take him out to town?"

"Oh! Me!" Lenalee immediately piped up.

"Of course, my precious Lenalee! Anything you want," Komui happily agreed, and then turned to the male Exorcists, saying with a more serious voice, "And you three will go along as well, for the protection of my dear Lenalee, of course!"

Thankfully, they knew better than to argue against the protective older brother. Sister-complex indeed…

Soon enough, all five were strolling around the town, a curious Allen in tow. Despite his eagerness to explore the town, Allen made it his job to irritate Kanda to no end. The Japanese could do nothing but growl at the annoying child, and even that was risky with a protective Lenalee around. Unfortunately, Allen took it too far by trying to tug Mugen away, causing Kanda to snap.

"Damn it all, beansprout! Quit it, would you?!" Kanda snarled, scowl set firmly in place. Allen stumbled back in shock.

Lenalee was on him faster than bees on honey. "Kanda, calm down! He's only a child now! You have to be patient," Lenalee scolded with a disapproving frown.

"And we all know Kanda doesn't have any of _that_," Daisya muttered loudly to Lavi in a mocking voice, causing the red head to snicker.

Pointing the tip of Mugen's blade at Daisya's neck in one swift motion, Kanda growled, "Shut it, clown face! No one gives a fuck about what you think!"

"Err, guys?" Lavi piped, up, though he was completely ignored.

Smirking cockily, Daisya seemed unfazed by Kanda's threat. "Why don't you stop being such a sissy and admit you're wrong for once?"

"And why don't stop being a fucking dipshit and keep your ass where it belongs?!" Kanda snarled back, slightly jabbing Mugen against Daisya's neck, causing a small trickle of blood to run down his neck.

"Guys?" Lavi spoke up again, but was drowned out by Lenalee's indignant yell.

"Hey! Would you two stop acting like immature brats?! What sort of example do you think you're giving Allen?" Lenalee admonished them furiously, realizing that their argument was going too far. Her brother had assured her that Kanda's temperamental issues would mellow down over the years, but it sure didn't seem like it now, especially with Daisya around to aggravate him, and adding Lavi into the lot would surely make things worse.

"It's not like the little dumbass will stay like that forever," Kanda grumbled, but grudgingly sheath Mugen back to apiece her. Daisya backed off as well, wiping the blood running down his neck off with an annoyed grimace.

"Guys!" Lavi yelled with a frustrated edge to his voice.

"What?!" They all looked at him with irritated scowls.

"Do any of you happen to know where our little shortstack has run off to?" Lavi glared at them.

Suddenly feeling panicked, they glanced around the crowded streets, but all they could see were the townspeople that had been previously watching their loud argument, as well as the occasional carriage being pulled by horses down the cobblestone streets.

"Well, fuck," Kanda growled, practically summarizing all their thoughts.

* * *

"Oh, Tyki~! Look what I've found~!" Road skipped down the sidewalk towards the tall, well dressed man.

Taking a long drag from the cigarette currently hanging at his lips, Tyki spared her a small glance and asked, "What is it, Road?"

Tyki's eyes then widened as he took in the silver-haired child being currently held in Road's arms and then leaned in to get a good look. Realizing the intense gaze being set upon him, Allen shrunk into Road's arms. Truthfully, Allen wasn't sure how to feel about the girl who had taken him. Her face reminded him of hurt and pain, but it also reminded him of sweet things, like candy in your mouth, or chocolate ice cream. It made Allen feel very confused. But this man. He was different. He reminded Allen of a thunderous agony inside of his chest that burned and ached endlessly. Remembering the distant and blurry memory, three-year-old Allen began to shake as tears sprung to his eyes.

"Look what you did!" Road gasped, and tightly clutched Allen to her chest.

Leaning back, Tyki raised his eyebrows in surprise, and then began to slightly panic as he saw the waterworks coming. "Huh?! What's wrong, boy?"

Realizing that this only caused Allen to shrink further away from him, Tyki frantically searched around his pockets and then finally pulled out his deck of cards and held them awkwardly towards Allen. "Err, would you like these, boy?"

"Tyki!" Road scoffed with an exasperated shake of her head. "He doesn't want your stupid cards."

Allen surprisingly proved her wrong a couple seconds later, when he excitedly snatched the stack of cards from Tyki's gloved hand, fear quickly forgotten. Road just rolled her eyes when Tyki gave her a satisfied smirk.

"Err, Road? Exactly who did you steal this child from?" Tyki asked cautiously, wondering what crazy scheme had gotten into Road's head this time.

Sniffing in disdain, Road huffed, "You can't steal what belonged to you in the first place." In Road's mind, this meant that by kissing Allen before he'd joined the Order, she'd technically called dibs on him, but Tyki didn't need to know that.

Tyki stared blankly at her for a moment, before shaking his head and muttering, "I don't think I want to know."

"Good answer!" Road giggled.

"So, boy," Tyki addressed Allen, who had been carefully shuffling through the cards with his chubby hands. "You like to play cards, huh?"

Allen looked up at him, and simply shrugged, now not sure how to feel about this man. Once he pushed past the pain, he'd, for some odd reason, felt some sort of pity towards him. As for the cards, it reminded him of a time that he'd actually enjoyed the man's company, despite its briefness.

"What, are you a mute, or something boy?" Tyki asked dryly, as he blew out another mouthful of smoke.

Allen shook his head furiously in response, prompting Tyki to command, "Then say something, boy."

Pointing one chubby finger at Tyki's face, Allen declared, "Thick gwasses!"

Road and Tyki both blinked in surprise for a moment, and Road slowly asked, "Did he just call you thick glasses?"

"It would seem so…" Tyki muttered, an odd look on his face.

"Weird," Road simply shrugged, and then piped up, "Ooh, Tyki! There's a cake shop down the street and Daddy said you just _had_ to take me! Come on!"

"Right," Tyki nodded distractedly, though this went unnoticed by Road who had set Allen on his feet and was now towing him down the sidewalk with a bounce to her step.

Following after them, Tyki dug his hand into his pocket, fingering the pair of thick glasses that he'd taken off earlier, in exchange for his top hat.

* * *

"Ooh! Now try this one!" Road demanded, shoving a spoon full of strawberry shortcake into Allen's mouth, not that Allen was complaining. Allowing this girl to take him had been the best idea ever! As much as he'd enjoyed watching his other friends argue back and forth, they'd forgotten to feed him! But this girl had been feeding him all sorts of cakes and sweets for the past hour, and they both had yet to tire of doing it.

"Road, I think you're overfeeding him," Tyki commented from his seat, as he watched his niece continue to stuff Allen.

As if to prove him wrong, Allen grabbed the rest of the cake and shoved it into his mouth, and then gave Tyki a triumphant look, causing him to roll his eyes.

Road giggled and then piped up, "Hey Tyki, watch Allen for a bit, will you? I'm going to bring us some candy from across the street!"

"But you don't have any money," Tyki replied.

"Don't I~?" Road giggled as she held Tyki's wallet up for display and then skipped out of the shop.

Tyki shook his head in exasperation, and muttered, "Should have known."

Allen simply giggled and continued to snack on the multiple cakes surrounding him, first making a grab for the triple fudge cake coated in thick, chocolate frosting and chocolate chips. As he continued to munch on the fluffy treats, Tyki watched him in a bored manner, head leaning against his gloved hand and a cigarette casually hanging between his lips.

"So, boy," Tyki began, causing Allen to look up at him in surprise. "Do you actually know how to play poker with those cards?"

Allen nodded seriously, and swallowing down the bite of cake, he answered in a clear, childish voice, "Yes."

"Who taught you?" Tyki asked, wondering why such a young child would even know something like that in the first place.

Allen cocked his head to the side, as he contemplated the question himself. The first thought that came to his mind was a red headed demon, causing him to shudder, and say, "Masta…"

"Master?" Tyki questioned in surprise.

Allen nodded frantically, and glancing around him superstitiously, he lowered his voice and declared urgently, "Evil!"

"Evil?!" The Portuguese man stared at Allen in shock, trying to figure out if he'd heard correctly.

Allen nodded certainly, and repeated, "Evil!" Then, as if to make himself feel better, Allen began to stuff himself with more cake.

"Right…" Tyki trailed off uncertainly.

Before anymore could be said between them, Road bounced into the shop, calling out, "Oh, Allen~! Look what I brought for us!" In her hands she held a huge bag overflowing with all types of candies and sweets.

Allen jumped up excitedly, and they were soon digging through the bag greedily, tossing used wrappers on the table and cramming their mouths with as many candies as they could until they resembled chipmunks. They suddenly giggled as they stared at each other's faces, and began to crunch their way through all the candy in their mouth, reveling in the juicy and sugared treats melting in their mouths and mixing together to create exotic tastes.

Another hour soon passed as both Allen and Road worked their way through the pile of candy, with Tyki occasionally snatching a piece or two and stuffing it in his pocket, Eeze on his mind.

As the afternoon drew on, Allen yawned and blinked heavily, his head bobbing up and down.

"Don't children usually take naps?" Tyki asked, as he stared at Allen's sleepy form.

"I guess they do," Road replied around the cherry-flavored lollipop in her mouth. Sighing, she admitted, "I should probably be taking him back now."

Tyki stared at her in surprise, almost choking on the smoke he was exhaling, and slightly coughing as he stared at her in surprise. "You're actually returning him?!" If there was one thing Tyki knew about Road, it was that she _never_ shared.

Pouting, Road explained, "I have to, or else he won't return back to normal. Ah well, there's always next time." Taking Allen into her arms, he immediately snuggled into her and promptly fell asleep. "I'll be back in ten minutes. Wait here, okay?"

Before Tyki could reply, Road exited the shop, leaving him to clean up after their mess.

* * *

"It's been hours! Anything could have happened to him by now!" Lenalee cried. They'd been scurrying through the town for the past few hours and they'd just met back up, all coming back empty handed.

"We'll find him," Kanda growled stubbornly.

"Could it be that someone took him, or did he just run off?" Lavi mused with a worried frown.

"I think we all know the answer to that," Daisya glared accusingly at Kanda, only receiving a scowl in return.

"Blaming each other won't help matters," Lavi said seriously, putting a calming hand on a shaking Lenalee's shoulder.

"That's right!" Lenalee agreed. "We can't just give up now! He _has _to be around here, somewhere."

"Oh? Are you looking for something?" Road giggled as she snuck up behind the group causing them to jump in surprise.

Exclamations such as:

"Allen!"

"Beansprout!"

"Shortstack!" and

"Twerp!" were all heard around the group as they stared in shock at the younger girl carrying a sleeping Allen in her arms.

"Should have known you would be the one to have him," Daisya shook his head in relief.

"Huh? Who is this?" Lavi asked Daisya, curious as ever, though Kanda stared at him expectantly as well.

"I'm Road~!" Road piped up with a giggle, as she gently dumped Allen into Kanda's surprised arms. Kanda scrunched up his nose in disgust when he realized Allen's face and hands were sticky, stained, and covered in crumbs.

"He better be back to normal by the time I'm back!" Road threatened, and then giving Allen a swift kiss on top of his head, she whispered, "Sweet dreams, Allen~!" With that, Road made her quick leave, soon getting lost in the crowds.

"And that, everyone, was Allen's girlfriend," Daisya declared with a smirk, 'causing Lavi to stumble in shock and Kanda to slightly raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"You're kidding!" Lavi exclaimed. "Every time I would talk about girls with the shortstack, he seemed so uninterested!"

"Then he must be very focused on this Road chick," Daisya simply shrugged.

"I think we should be getting back now," Lenalee gripped out with a small frown on her face, as she began to stock towards the direction of Headquarters.

"What's up with her?" Lavi scratched the back of his head.

"Girls; never could understand them," Daisya replied, as they began to follow her.

Kanda looked down at the sleeping Allen in his arms, and muttered as he also followed after them, "You sure like to cause a ruckus, beansprout."

* * *

"My Lenalee~! You're back~!" Komui jumped up and practically sang, as the five of them entered his office.

"Yes, Brother. Have you managed to finish the antidote, yet?" Lenalee asked, as she made her way towards him, the rest following behind her.

"Of course! Anything for my precious sister!" Komui declared, as he dug around the mess on his desk, until he finally produced a small vile filled with a thick, navy blue liquid, a triumphant grin on his face. Lenalee sighed in relief as she took the vile in her hands and uncorked it.

The others quickly sat the sleeping Allen down on the couch across from Komui's desk carefully supporting him, as Lenalee got ready to pour the liquid into Allen's mouth. Just as she was about to tip it over, Lavi suddenly shouted, "Wait!"

This caused them all to jump in surprise, but fortunately, Lenalee managed to keep the antidote from spilling over. Lavi gave them a sheepish smile as they glared at him, and said with a nervous laugh, "Right, sorry about that. I just thought I should do something real quick, before you gave it to him."

Before they could ask for any explanations, Lavi unzipped and slipped out of his Exorcist coat, and proceeded to wrap Allen in it, placing his small arms into the huge sleeves, and zipping it up, practically drowning him in it, the collar of the coat surrounding his tiny, angelic face.

Komui began to suddenly clap enthusiastically, as he left his desk and clapped Lavi on the back. "Good job, Lavi! I'd forgotten of that slight detail! Thank you very much for protecting my dear Lenalee's virgin eyes!"

That's when the rest realized why Lavi had done what he did, especially Lenalee who was furiously blushing, as she stuttered out an indignant, "Br-Brother!"

Getting to his knees, Komui began to dramatically beg, "My precious sister, can you find it in your heart to forgive my audacious mistake?! If it weren't for Lavi, who knows what your beautiful eyes would have seen!" At this, Komui began to cry.

Releasing an exasperated sigh, Lenalee finally said, "Yes, Brother, I forgive you."

"Thank you, my dear Lenalee! I knew you had a heart of gold! Now, if you'll excuse me, my inventions are calling to me! I'm coming, my dear Komurin~!" And with that bizarre statement, Komui was skipping out of the room.

"Lenalee," Daisya spoke up, causing them all to look at him. "Your brother really is an idiot…"

Lenalee decided not to dignify that with a response.

Crouching back down, Lenalee gently tilted Allen's head up, and lightly pinching his nose, Lenalee poured the antidote into Allen's mouth, and then clapped her hand on top of his mouth, preventing him from breathing until he swallowed it all. At this, Allen's silver eyes flew open in shock, and widened to the size of saucers, as he instantly swallowed the sticky liquid inside his mouth. Allen began gasping for air, once Lenalee released him with an apologetic smile, and stared at the surrounding Exorcists with a weary gaze.

"Sorry about that Allen, but it was for your own good," Lenalee spoke in a stern voice. Allen simply blinked, not even knowing what was going on in the first place.

Allen fidgeted as they all stared expectantly at him. After a couple moments of nothing happening, Lavi piped up, "So, is it going to work or not?"

"It has to!" Lenalee frowned, and then sighed in frustration.

Shrugging, Daisya slumped down on the couch, and decided, "Well, if it's going to take a while, we might as well get comfortable."

Everyone seemed to agree, because soon enough they were all squishing themselves on the couch in the order of Daisya, Kanda, Allen, Lenalee, and then Lavi.

It wasn't too long before the long morning took its toll on them, and they were all slumping against each other, slumber taking a hold of them.

* * *

**Time Frame — Night of March 6****th****, 1895**

* * *

"Erm, excuse me?" a timid voice spoke up, causing the sleeping group to fidget around at the disturbance. Eventually, they all managed to wake up, shouts such as:

"Lavi, get your elbow out of my face!"

"Get the fuck off me, clown face!"

"Eww, is that drool on me?!" and

"Bad BaKanda!" were heard around them, as they tried to get away from each other, though it was difficult when squished together on such a small couch. But hearing that last, childish voice caused them to all suddenly stop and stare wide-eyed at the still, de-aged Allen.

"WHAT?!" they all yelled in shock and anger when they realized the potion hadn't even worked. This caused them all to start shouting at each other, blaming everyone from Kanda, to Komui, to even Allen himself.

"Um, excuse me?!" the voice piped up again, albeit a little louder this time. They instantly quieted down when they realized they weren't in the room alone, and looked up to see who it was that had woken them up in the first place.

Feeling all of their gazes on her, Miranda began to shake in fear, as she bowed profusely and stuttered out, "I-I'm s-sorry! I d-didn't mean to i-i-interrupt!"

"Yes, you did. You said 'excuse me'," Kanda pointed out bluntly, causing Miranda to blush in embarrassment.

"Not now, Kanda!" Lenalee scolded Kanda. Seeing the young woman's Exorcist uniform, Lenalee recognized her as the new Exorcist her brother had mentioned, and said to her, "I apologize for our rudeness. It wasn't very welcoming, was it? I'm assuming you're looking for my brother?"

"Your brother…?" Miranda trailed off.

"Oh, right! Sorry, I mean Supervisor Komui Lee," Lenalee elaborated to the newcomer.

"R-right! Yes, I was told to see him as soon as possible…" Miranda nodded frantically, but then trailed off with a frown when she noticed something behind Lenalee. Making her way around the teenage girl, Miranda crouched down, by where Allen had been sitting on the couch, and stared at him wide-eyed. "Allen?!"

"You know the little twerp?" Daisya asked, just as surprised as the rest of them.

"So that's really him?! What happened?" Miranda asked with a worried a frown, as Allen stared at her curiously.

"There was a bit of an accident, and a potion landed on him," Lavi took the liberty to explain in a sheepish tone.

"Is he going to be okay?" Miranda asked, fussing over him. When the room continued to stay dead silent, she looked up at them and demanded in a way that was out of character for her, "Well?!"

Miranda's eyes widened when nobody met her eyes, and she almost became hysterical as she realized that the one person to help her and give her a chance at a new live couldn't even remember her! Before she could do anything drastic, the disk on her arm suddenly whizzed down to her wrist and began to whir to life, lighting up the room with its magnificent glow.

"What's that?" Lavi was the first to ask, as they stared wide-eyed at Miranda's Innocence.

"It's my Innocence, Time Record. For some reason, it seems to have taken a liking to Allen…" Miranda explained with a perplexed frown.

"Do you think Time Record, as the name implies, could be able to return Allen to his actual age?" Lenalee asked.

Miranda was silent for a brief moment, and then she explained, "Time Record says that returning Allen to his true age is impossible." Everyone immediately tensed up in fear at the notion, but then Miranda hurriedly continued, "But, Time Record says there is something that can be done."

"What is it?!" Kanda, surprisingly, demanded.

Miranda only shook her head, and then the glow from her Time Record suddenly enveloped her and Allen in a small bubble, shining brighter by the second, causing the other Exorcists to shield their eyes from the radiant light. Soon, the light died down, Time Record deactivated, and in their place was Miranda clutching a thirteen-year-old Allen to her chest, making them all sigh in relief.

"M-Miranda?" Allen looked up at her through sleepy eyes.

"Hush, it's okay now," Miranda reassured him, causing Allen to silently nod and fall back asleep from utter exhaustion.

"Daisya, Lavi," Lenalee suddenly spoke up with a serious voice, "Help Miranda out, by leading her to her room. She's new here, and we wouldn't want her getting lost. I think I'll need to speak to my brother, before we try to figure out anything else."

"What about the twerp?" Daisya nodded towards Allen.

"Kanda can take him to his room," Lenalee decided, and Kanda new better than to argue when Lenalee got like this.

"Just one thing," Lavi said, before they all left the room, and turned towards Miranda. "I thought you said that Time Record couldn't return Allen to his true age."

Miranda furrowed her brows in confusion, and nodded, "Yes, that's what Time Record said."

"Right. Just wanted to make sure…" Lavi muttered.

* * *

Kanda wondered with irritation how many times it would be that he'd have to dump the sleeping beansprout in his room. Not like he could do much about it now. This set a firm scowl on Kanda's face, not that that was anything new.

"K-Kanda?" Kanda heard Allen murmur in a sleep-filled voice from where he'd carelessly tossed him over his shoulder.

"What?" Kanda grunted.

"Where are you taking me?" Allen muttered back.

"To your bed, dumbass. Where else?" Kanda resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the idiot beansprout.

"Oh. So you're not going to use Mugen to skin me alive?" Allen asked, making Kanda raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"I might. If you don't shut up. Though there's no way I'd use _Mugen_ of all things to skin _your_ sorry ass," Kanda replied in his usual harsh manner.

Allen, being too exhausted to put up a fight, simply sighed, "I thought as much."

They were silent again, and Kanda almost jumped in surprise when Allen suddenly muttered, "Sorry for trying to take Mugen."

"You remember that?"

"Kind of. I remember tugging at it, then lots of shouting. All I remember after that was lots and lots of sweets…" Allen trailed off with a contented sigh.

"Right. It was that midget girl who fed you. You're girlfriend," Kanda elaborated, when Allen didn't understand.

"Eh?! Is that what she told you?" Allen groaned in frustration.

"No, that's what Daisya said," Kanda explained.

"Oh, I'm going to kill that big mouth!" Allen growled under his breath. Kanda simply shrugged. It's not like he really cared all that much.

"Anyway," Allen continued, "I'm not apologizing for anything else I did, since you probably deserved it."

Just as he said this, Kanda dumped him on the ground, causing Allen to yelp as he roughly hit the floor. "Gah! What was that?!"

Kanda replied dryly, "This is your room." He then sneered and rhetorically asked, "What? Do you also need me to tuck you into bed?" When all he received was a glare in return, Kanda begin to walk away.

"You're still a BaKanda, you know?!" Allen called back.

"And you're still a dumbass beansprout!" Kanda automatically replied.

Allen sighed, as he stared at the ceiling, still lying on the floor. He could just never get a break, could he? Allen soon received his answer, when he felt a sharp pain in his stomach. Maybe he should've held back on the sweets…

* * *

**A/N: **Yeah, some of you might not like this chapter for the simple fact that there was nothing real plot worthy in this whole thing. (x Ah well, at least I introduced Tyki and Miranda into the story! (; I still have yet to come up with a plot for this, so at the current moment, I'm just trying to have as much fun with it as possible. I mean, I got a whole two years time to get these characters into all sorts of shenanigans! xD Make sure to review and tell me if you come up with any wacky situations! (; And hey, it provides for great character development~ (;

So, considering I didn't update for two months, I'm guessing you'll all want an estimate of when I can update next. Honestly, the only reason I was finally able to find time to write was because I'm currently on break for the week. I don't think I'll be fast enough to be able to write a whole new chapter by the end of the week, so if you see me not updating for a while, it's most likely that I'll be updating next month, during Thanksgiving break. Really sorry, but I thought I'd at least let you know. :(

I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please leave me your thoughts on what you thought about the whole ordeal! (;


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